{"id":7677,"date":"2026-07-02T08:42:37","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T08:42:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=7677"},"modified":"2026-07-10T08:56:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T08:56:36","slug":"our-voices-when-armed-power-appears-at-the-ballot-box","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=7677","title":{"rendered":"Our Voices \u2014 When Armed Power Appears at the Ballot Box"},"content":{"rendered":"

by\u00a0Rev. Peter Johnson<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

There are sounds you never forget once you have heard them. The slow crunch of gravel beneath a sheriff\u2019s boots outside a voting station. The sound of a shotgun being cocked. The silence of Black citizens standing in line, afraid to make eye contact. The sound of a church mother whispering, \u201cBaby, if I don\u2019t come home tonight, tell your daddy I tried.\u201d<\/p>\n

I remember grown men trembling before voter registration tables, not because they were weak, but because they understood exactly what power could do to a Black body in America. I remember pastors watching police cars circle churches where voter meetings were being held. I remember people disappearing from movements overnight. I remember fear sitting beside democracy like an armed guard.<\/p>\n

That is why my spirit turned cold when I heard the discussion of ICE agents and Border Patrol officers being present at polling stations. Some of us have seen this movie before, and we know how it ends.<\/p>\n