Say Amen: How Black faith traditions showed up at the DNC

While joy was a buzzword at the convention to nominate Vice President Kamala Harris, plenty of speakers brought the Black church to the party.By Rev. Dorothy S. BoulwareWord in BlackFor generations, the Black church has been a cornerstone of Democratic Party politics, from “souls to the polls” voting drives to hosting candidates who want to reach Black audiences.& Sen. Rafael Warnock, who preaches at Martin Luther King’s church, was among several Black speakers at the Democratic National Convention who used faith as a call to action in the 2024 presidential election. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)So it was no surprise when Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Georgia lawmaker and ordained minister, took the stage at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Aug. 19 he also took his audience to church. After referencing his mother — who, after years of picking cotton picked her son at the ballot box in 2020 — he compared voting to an act of faith.“Voting is a prayer we pray collectively for the kind of world we desire for ourselves and our children,” said Warnock, senior pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, which was once pastored by Martin Luther King Jr. “And our prayers are stronger when we...