Black Voters Express the Importance of Voting

Syracuse, N.Y (DIA) — Joann and Dwight Hicks have been voting together for years. Lifelong Syracuse residents, the married couple was determined to cast their votes at the Elmcrest Children’s Center early Tuesday afternoon on Election Day. The Hicks vote in every election because it “all comes down to representation” Joann Hicks said.

This is their level of participation. As citizens of the community, the Hicks see voting as a must-do. 

“We are part of a generation where voting has always been an asset to our being,” Dwight Hicks said. “ We are here to represent our being — African Americans — participating in the process that we live and died for.”

Black voters felt the gravity of the situation as they strive for representation in government. Syracuse resident, Della Cooper, goes out to support her party and finds it extremely important to support the truth and her community.

“We as African American people need  to stand up for what we want instead of sitting back and letting everybody else have it,” Cooper said

Cooper is one of many voters that see the action as their civic duty and who want to make a change in their community. Syracuse voter Excell Holmes said his duty stemmed from wanting to put his input in to “make things go the right way.” Fearing for the state of his community, Holmes hopes his vote will make a difference.

Lifelong voter Nell McFarland has lived in Syracuse for 75 years and always has an absentee ballot. The Syracuse resident makes sure to vote in every election and requests a ballot each time for the off chance she won’t be in town. A retired educator, McFarland sees it as her obligation to vote and pushes those around her to do the same.

For many Black voters like McFarland, local elections have a bigger impact than national elections. Brittany Taylor, a Syracuse resident and Community Impact Director for the American Heart Association, finds it crucial to exercise her right to vote.

Taylor said it’s more than just casting a vote. By coming out on Election Day, she is paying tribute to her ancestors who fought hard for that right.  

“My ancestors literally died for the right to vote,” Taylor said “These elections, they’re the power. This is where the power really is.”