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As the August primary nears, our “Black Church in Detroit” series examines the role of the Black church in mobilizing congregants and the community to vote. ABJ host Stephen Henderson sits down with Bishop Edgar Vann, senior pastor and CEO of Second Ebenezer Church, and seminarian Ashley Lewis, who is a member of Fellowship Chapel and the Community Action Program Coordinator for UAW Region 1. They discuss the strategies and messages the Black church can use to help get out the vote.
Bishop Vann reflects on how he was exposed to the voting process in school as a young person, and he stresses the importance of people being educated on the civic process and how the government works. Bishop Vann, who has been a pastor for 50 years, also talks about the connection between political participation and African Americans’ economic self-determination. Ashley Lewis discusses what’s needed in the messaging to the younger generation to get them to vote. She cites the results of a recent study that indicates people under the age of 50 won’t necessarily vote because it’s their right. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s doesn’t resonate with them. Instead, they are more interested in current issues that directly impact them. Lewis also suggests that Black churches should re-establish Freedom Schools.