By Alex Bass
Alex.bass@triangletribune.com
RALEIGH – Erika Moss admitted she is angry. Thus, she came to the North Carolina State Capitol Building Tuesday – in peace.
“I’m learning how to funnel that temper into this work,” Moss said. “That’s what helps me to help others and be of service in any way I can.”
Moss, of Raleigh, participated in the reading of the names of 60,000 registered North Carolinians whose votes are being contested by N.C. Supreme Court Republican candidate Jefferson Griffin. The reading, organized by the Can’t Win Victory Fund, was a jumpstart on community service at the foundation of the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday.
This year, the Jan. 20 holiday is the same day as President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
“Hopefully, incoming President Trump will take the time to think about and acknowledge the significant contributions of Martin Luther King,” said Lynda Bryant-Comstock, another names’ reader from Chatham County. Bryant-Comstock’s vote is among those being challenged.
Democratic Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs has been declared the race’s winner by 734 votes after two recounts, but federal and state lawsuits are precluding the election’s certification. Griffin contends that 60,000 voters cast ballots without a driver’s license or Social Security number attached to their voter registration which should disqualify them. Voters in question, however, showed appropriate voter identification when voting.
“What we are talking about is the right of every American citizen to vote and have their vote count,” said Beth Kendall of the Can’t Win Victory Fund. “We’re going to continue doing it so we can make sure that we’re actually pushing for the things that Martin Luther King believed in.”
King’s 1963 “I Have A Dream” speech – on the Washington National Mall where Trump will be inaugurated again – preceded the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965, which eliminated disenfranchising practices of literacy tests and poll taxes.
“It’s like we’re going back in time, unfortunately,” Moss said. “Never would I have thought that we would be in this situation at this time. It’s one big time travel.”
Reading 60,000 names required approximately 50 hours, two Capitol speaking posts streamed online, and additional volunteers reading and recording videos from their homes. Bryant-Comstock, though, was determined to travel to Raleigh and read in person. Doing so, she said, demonstrates a unique solidarity with King’s ministry.
“He didn’t ask for anything. He was constantly in service of the people – of his people, of all Americans. Not just African Americans, not just Black Americans, all of America,” she said. “He was emblematic of being in service.”
Kate Barr, director of the Can’t Win Victory Fund, added that this particular service is imperative, as the country’s eyes are on North Carolina, and what happens in the Riggs-Griffin matter will set precedents for attempting to suppress voting rights in other states.
“It’s a state issue. It’s a national issue. It’s a human issue,” Barr said.
Added Moss: “I’m trying to make sure that the King holiday is not in vain.”
