Last night, I finished reading “The Blood of Emmett Till” by Timothy B. Tyson. The 14-year-old was killed in 1955 because of who he was and where he was.

On Saturday, it happened again in a Pittsburgh synagogue. Eleven Jewish parishioners were killed because of who they were and where they were. 

To be judged and executed on site is not new in American history. But now the voices of intolerance and ignorance have a principal spokesman — President Donald J. Trump. He has transformed the bully pulpit of the presidency into a bullhorn of raw hate. He has formed a covenant with those that seek to widen the divide in this nation and permanently wall it off from the rest of the world. 

Last week, a black couple in Kentucky was killed in a Kroger grocery store because of who they were and where they were. Last week, bombs were mailed to leaders and a news organization to silence their voices.

It has been 63 years since Emmett Till’s murder and the divide continues to grow and strengthen. 

However, on Tuesday, Nov. 6, we have a responsibility to give a voice to those who were killed just because of who they were.

American greatness does not rest with bombs and bullets but with the ballot. Our power is still at the polls. Voting matters. Voting is your voice.

The same forces who want to silence your voice also seek to erase your vote.

Go vote!

CLARENCE CHAPMAN JR.

Richmond