Written by Tanya Terry, with photos courtesy of Team KMR
Almost every pew was filled for a Get Out To Vote Rally held at Christ Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church on October 21, even though it was on a weekday afternoon.
Pastor Allen C. Overton Sr., senior pastor at Christ Fellowship, who also serves as moderator of the Great Lakes Baptist District Association, stated he was honored when he was asked to hold the rally at the church. He added that the goal of the rally was to increase the low voter turnout rates in Flint & Genesee County.
“We want to get as many people as possible to vote,” said Overton. “We want to build some excitement in our community…We want to get more people engaged and more people out the vote. The more people we can engage and get out to vote, the better our turnout will be.”
The first person Overton introduced was Bishop Chris Martin, senior pastor of Cathedral of Faith Church.
Martin stated: “We’ve come here today to not only rally, but we’ve also come to celebrate and prepare our momentum because we are headed somewhere.
“We are not about to let anybody else get into office that is not going to look out for the interest of us. We have already been through too much. We have already suffered…
“We know how to go to the polls, and we know how to stand for what’s right. The city of Flint has always been in the forefront of change. We’ve always had the opportunity to show the nation what it means to maybe get hit, but survive through every hit. And we have lived and we have survived, and we will continue to survive, and we will continue to go forward.”
Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley held up a small booklet.
“This is one of the books that state representative gives out. It’s the Constitution of the United States of America. One of the things, if you’re an African American, we have to celebrate the rights and amendments of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendment…We have to educate each and every person. We have to become ambassadors, ambassadors of hope.”
Neeley stressed that everyone in the room needed to engage one of the greatest American rights: the right to vote.
Congresswoman Kristen McDonald Rivet pointed out she has been on Congress only about two years, but said it has been a long and hurtful two years. She explained this was due to some of the policies that have recently been introduced. She referenced the “Big, Beautiful Bill,” saying it took from the most vulnerable to help the most wealthy. She added that tariffs are costing Michigan households over $5,500 per home for the cumulative period of about 18 months.
She also stressed the importance of passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
“We need a new chapter…Every one of us needs to vote,” stated McDonald Rivet.
She added in Michigan there is no reason anyone should not vote.
U.S. Senator and Minister Raphael Warnock from Georgia acknowledged Flint has had to fight. He then gave the “moral assignment” to everyone there to “keep praying and keep pushing.”
Warnock pointed out the attention had been drawn to the way Candidate Abdul El-Sayed prays, or who he prays to.
“We will not accept bigotry with Christianity,” stated Warnock.
Warnock said he was more concerned about those who prey on other people, often less fortunate than themselves. He added the “Big, Ugly Bill” crushed the poor.
“Before they prayed over the people, they preyed over them,” said Warnock of those who helped pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).
He encouraged attendees to “not play with this Senate race.”
Warnock told attendees margins for political races can be slim, but consequences could be serious. He noted Senator Elissa Slotkin won by .34%, or a third of a percent.
Warnock voted in favor of the confirmation of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who became the first Black female and woman of color to be named a Supreme Court justice.
In his speech, Warnock noted that some in power “are trying to put a ceiling on what we imagine is possible.”
“In our America, you can be whatever you set your head and your heart to be,” Warnock said later.
Warnock also stressed the power of voting.
“When you vote, it’s not just a ballot. It’s a letter. It’s a letter to the future. It’s an epistle to our children, and in this moral moment in America, Flint, I need you to think about what you want your letter to say.”
