They Have Stolen Our Vote.
An Op-Ed for the Faith Community and All Who Love Democracy
They Have Stolen Our Vote. Now They Have Stolen Our Voice. The Faith Community Must Rise.
By Forrest E. Harris Sr.
On April 29, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States dealt a devastating blow to the heart of American democracy. In Louisiana v. Callais, the Court's six conservative justices effectively dismantled what remained of the Voting Rights Act of 1965—the law for which our ancestors bled, marched, and died on the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
Leadership Transition
Today, the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, Inc. (SDPC), a leading faith-based justice organization serving Black churches and communities nationwide, announced that Rev. Damien Durr will assume leadership as General Secretary, effective December 1, 2025. Rev. Dr. Iva E. Carruthers, who has served with distinction as founding General Secretary and trustee, will become general secretary emerita. As trustee, she will focus on strengthening strategic partnerships and increasing philanthropy.
“Zacchaeus Tax” panel brings faith-based lens to tax justice, gender justice
Dr. Iva Carruthers participated in a panel discussion that explored the intersections between tax justice and gender justice—and why this is a matter of faith.
Dr. Carruthers at the U.N. in Geneva Switzerland.
As we move from a declaration of an International Decade to a Permanent Forum for People of African Descent, we also acknowledge the long road ahead which will require vision, tenacity and unity. And it’s in the spirit of the Sankofa bird that I also submit this comment honoring the ancestral legacy and blessings of Callie House, mother of the US reparations movement, Dr. Conrad Worrill, my university colleague who was so effective organizing the US delegation at Durban and our beloved recent ancestor Atty. Randall Robinson.
