Marching to the beat of a Korean percussion section, more than 250 demonstrators made their way from Earvin “Magic” Johnson Park, on Wednesday morning, to an area church where they encouraged local residents to exercise their right to vote.
Consisting mostly of people from SEIU Local 434B and the Say Yes to Children Network, the procession – accompanied by a police escort that blocked traffic along the route – made the four-mile trek to the Grant African Methodist Episcopal Church to hear speeches about the need to secure and keep voting rights.
The Rev. Lewis Logan, pastor of Bethel AME Church, led the procession amid shouts of “My vote, my voice!” and “Count every vote!” Meanwhile, demonstrators passed out voter registration cards to motorists and passers-by.
“While President Bush has signed legislation that will extend temporary provisions of the Voter Rights Act of 1965, that still doesn’t mean that every voter’s rights will be protected.” said Carson City Councilman Mike Gipson, a coordinator of the event.
Speakers at the park rallying point and at the church included Maria Elena Durazo, executive secretary-treasurer the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor; Compton City Council members Isadore Hall and Barbara Calhoun; and Tyrone Freeman, president of Local 434B. All are members of the Right to Vote Coalition.
“We can’t just talk about it (voting); we have to [do something] about it because time is running short,” Freeman said. “The opportunity for change is right before us. We have an opportunity to make a difference.”
Other participants included the Korean Resource Center, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the African-American Voter REP Project and the Southern California Baptist Ministers Conference.
Following the rally at the church, demonstrators were asked to seek out least 10 people they knew and have them to register to vote, Gipson said.
“If the people don’t come together, ain’t nothing going to change,” said Theresa King, one of the demonstrators. “We better get with the program, or (we’ll) get left behind.”
“It’s important that we continue to march as often as we need to march to let people know that we will hold (elected officials) accountable, so that every vote rendered will be counted,” Gipson said.
