A group of African American pastors, one of them being Klein College professor David Brown, gathered at the Octavius Catto statue at City Hall Saturday to announce the beginning of a voter initiative called “CASE The Vote”.
CASE stands for “Congregations Affiliated to Strengthen Elections,” and operates with the purpose of assisting faith-based communities in mobilizing their congregations to take part in elections.
Reverend David W. Brown of Wharton-Wesley United Methodist Church called CASE The Vote “a gathering point to direct people to other resources,” after African-American pastors in the city discussed a need to further voter education and engagement.
Brown explained that the CASE website is the centerpiece of the movement, and provides information on registration deadlines, information on mail-in ballots, and polling locations.
Brown shared his sobering thoughts on the current level of voting knowledge in the faith community.
“I think that some of the congregants are aware of some of the issues at stake but I think we also have to recognize that [there is] a lot of voter suppression, a lot of voter intimidation particularly in the African American community.”
Brown is hopeful that CASE The Vote will prevail as a relevant resource, adding “[e]ven though we’re not all gathering in our sanctuaries, we can use things like social media, our website and things of that nature to get people informed and activated so that they can participate.”
An active leader in furthering the rights of African Americans, CASE is echoing the message of Catto years later, and 3o days before election day. Octavius Catto was shot and killed on Election Day, October 10, 1871 in Philadelphia.
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