06/01/2026
"Community Leaders Unite, Push for Large Voter Turnout:
No Time for Apathy or Complacency"
D. C. Davis — May 30, 2026
Lift Every Vote, a local non-partisan advocacy group, led a community meeting on Thursday, May 28th, to encourage Black residents to vote. Over 100 people listened to elected officials, activists, and religious leaders speak at First Baptist Church, Highland Avenue.
NAACP Winston Branch President Anthony Hairston told the crowd, “Tonight is about the truth and where we go from here.”
He added, “You’re not going to like it. It’s going to make you feel uncomfortable. But at this time, you have to understand what’s happening. It’s the fierce urgency of now that Dr. King spoke about.”
“No matter how much gerrymandering they do,” Hairston explained, “if you get the vote out, the gerrymandering doesn’t matter, because we’re going to beat them at the polls.”
Hairston said. “I’m a Black man in 2026, and I’m not going back to 1964. So it’s time now for us to get together, stay together, mobilize, organize, and get out here and get the vote out.”
We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there “is” such a thing as being too late. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action. —Martin Luther King Jr
Representative Kanika Brown (NC House 71) told the crowd it’s “important that we vote, we get out in the communities, send those letters out, knock on some doors, get some walkers together. Say, this is what’s going on. We need you to show up.”
According to Brown, her District is the most diverse in Forsyth County. When she talks to her Black and Hispanic constituents about voting, she says, “What do I need to do to help you?”
Brown believes another problem within the Black community is not participating in the Census count. Money is allocated based on Census data. “That’s money coming back to our district, that’s money coming back to our cities, and we need to make sure that we educate people on what the census looks like.”
Winston-Salem Mayor Pro Tempore D. D. Adams (North Ward) reminded the audience of a time when Blacks didn’t have a voice in the political system. Currently, six out of eight seats on the City Council are held by Blacks. Adams said that’s historic, but if people don’t vote they will lose representation.
While thanking everyone for being at the meeting, Adams said they were preaching to the choir. “How many of y’all are in here between the ages 18 and 40?” Only five raised their hands. Adams acknowledged that getting young people involved in the voting process is a problem.
Adams agreed with Brown about the importance of counting everyone in the Census. “All the money that we lost, that we fight about during the budget cycle, if we had just gotten counted, we wouldn’t be having conversations about where the money is coming from.”
“When you don’t vote and you don’t get counted, you don’t matter.”
Rev. Chad Armstrong, Executive Pastor of Galilee Missionary Baptist Church, brought a different idea to the conversation. He said that churches cannot talk to young people about the importance of voting because “they’re not there.”
Armstrong said churches have lost credibility with their communities. He believes “moments like this and how you treat moments of transition and trials are how you buy back the trust you lost.”
“The reason you’re here is because you know how important this is. But how you communicate that truth within your community is really the crux of the matter of why we’re here.
Armstrong encouraged the audience to speak to people where they are and take voter registration forms with them wherever they go. However, Armstrong believes a more personal approach is needed for real change.
“We don’t need any more travel agents. We need tour guides… the tour guide doesn’t just send you on the trip. They walk with you along the way.”
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https://open.substack.com/pub/forsythdemsnc/p/community-leaders-unite-push-for-a85?r=7n7kit&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
