The NAACP Bucks County co-sponsored a non-partisan “Protect the Results” rally held on November 4th in Doylestown to demand that all votes be counted. Patrice Tisdale, co-leader of our Criminal Justice & Education Committee, represented the Branch by speaking at the event. Here’s an excerpt from her speech:
"In 1867, during Reconstruction, this country finally recognized the right of Black males to vote. Despite the threats and opposition against this right, we voted…
Three years later in 1870, Hiram Revels entered the United State Senate. Approximately one year later, Joseph Rainey entered the United States House of Representatives. These were the first two African Americans to serve in US Congress, and they took over seats formerly held by white slave owners. Joy cometh in the morning! …
We have come too far as a country to give up now. Yes, we still have a long path to travel. But that path has been paved by the blood of our ancestors. The blood of freedom riders. The blood of Martin Luther King Jr.. The blood of Representative John Lewis. The blood of countless others who fought and sacrificed for us to vote and the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The sweat and agony and years of work of organizations like the NAACP to ensure that enforcement of this Act.
We demand every single vote be counted for Hiram Revels.
We demand every single vote be counted for Joseph Rainey.
We demand every single vote be counted for the rights of every immigrant that lives among us.
We demand every single vote be counted because that is what democracy looks like.
We demand every single vote be counted because joy cometh in the morning!"
Pictured: Patrice Tisdale, Esq.
Photo Credit: Bruce Berlin