‘Souls to the Polls’ caravan mobilizes Black voters

Drivers roll down their windows and slow to a crawl and curious onlookers watch from their front porches as some 30 cars — including church buses and a Black Voters Matter van with “We fight Back!”emblazoned in bold lettering — caravan through Macon Sunday afternoon. 

At the head of the line, Kim White, the deaconess at Ekklesia Christian Worship Center (CWC), leads the pack of cars in her white SUV. “Vote Today!” reads the poster taped to the side of her car.

She cruises with her windows down, bopping to the hip hop and R&B songs flowing from her speakers. She leans on the horn with one hand while the other waves out the window. 

“Vote! Vote! Don’t forget to vote!” White’s words rise above the music. Her voice is hoarse from chanting, but this doesn’t slow her down one bit.

“Your vote is your voice and your voice is your victory,” she said, recalling one year in which she blew out her horn from honking so much.

White and her husband, Ekklesia CWC Deacon Eddie White, have been doing this for 15 years and it’s all part of the movement to mobilize Black voters.

Roughly a dozen different Macon churches participated in this tour through town, known as “Souls to the Polls” or “Pews to the Polls.” 

Beginning around 12:30 p.m., the caravan departed from the Roses Discount Store parking lot on Shurling Drive and wound through several Black neighborhoods, making one stop at Macedonia Baptist Church so more people could join the train of cars.

The caravan toured through East Macon, Walnut Hill, Murphey Homes, Bloomfield and Highland Circle neighborhoods, among many others. 

“If you stay in public housing, you get any kind of government assistance, it’s a good thing for you to vote,” White said. “To make sure that you will continue to get the benefits that you have been getting.”

She believes the biggest reason some indviduals don’t vote is because they think their vote won’t matter, but initiatives like “Souls to the Polls” serves as a reminder that their voice does count. 

Many wave and cheer the caravan on as it weaves through residential neighborhoods. White gives handfuls of voter flyers to young kids who run up to her open car window. She then watches as they excitedly run the pamphlets back to their parents.

Throughout the two-and-a-half hour drive, she receives calls from supporters in the community asking if they can join the caravan. In the past, passersby have hopped on the caravan after seeing the line of cars and buses roll by.

By the time the caravan reached its destination— the Macon-Bibb Board of Elections office off of Eisenhower Parkway —   just short of 3 p.m., folks were ready to cast their ballots.

“Souls to the Polls” gives community members a means to go directly from Sunday morning church services to the polls to vote, Ida Gary, lead organizer for Black Voters Matter, explained. 

Gary works to help grassroots movements, such as Mr. and Mrs. White’s caravan, gain momentum.

Pastor Richard Robinson ended service at New Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist church early that morning in order to join the “Souls to the Polls” journey through Macon.

“We are a group of believers that believe in God and that carry out our civic duties,” he said. “I’m voting because I believe that my vote will change and will help people in my community.”

Newly elected county commissioner Stanley Stewart also participated in the caravan.

“You have to make sure, as an American, that you get out and exercise that right to vote and make sure you’re part of ‘We the People,’’ he told The Melody. “Because people really struggled hard in this country to make sure that was a right for all people.”

At the Board of Elections office, Gary dons a black visor, a bullhorn and a Black Voters Matter jacket. She stands by the side of the road with other sign-holders, hoping to encourage drivers to stop and vote. Members of the Epsilon Omega Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority also wave pink and green vote signs. 

“We work together. It’s no no big ‘I’ and little ‘you’s.’ Everybody has a spot at the table,” said Eddie White, noting that “Souls to the Polls” isn’t about endorsing one candidate over another, but encouraging folks to exercise their right to vote, no matter their party. 

Robinson’s wife, Ashley Robinson and their two children, Richard Robinson III and Rheyna Robinson participated in the “Souls to the Polls” caravan too.

“​​It’s important that we get out and let our voice be heard, if you don’t vote, you can’t complain,” Ashley said.

Her daughter holds a “Vote Today!” sign and her son holds a Black Voters Matter sign with the words “I matter. You Matter. We Matter” printed along the top. 

 “We have to show our kids that it’s important to do these types of things,” she added. “My grandmother — their great-grandmother — fought for us to do this.”

There will be another caravan event in Macon on Monday, Nov. 4. Lineup for the caravan will begin at 9:30 a.m. at Glorious Hope Baptist Church on 3805 Napier Ave. and end at 11:30 a.m. at the Roses Discount Store parking lot on 652 Shurling Dr. For more information, contact Kim White at (478) 405 0281.