Friends,
We’ve been on The Ride for two days. Leaving the old Greyhound station in D.C., where the original Freedom Riders boarded in 1961, put the stakes of this journey into focus — especially two weeks from Election Day.
Rev. Dr. Michael Waters, our Director of Black Voter Engagement, said it well:
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On May 4, 1961, thirteen men and women boarded a bus for the original Freedom Rides. They didn’t know how much violence and hate was waiting for them, and in their travels through the South, they were firebombed and beaten. But they kept going, and because they did, hundreds more came.
We owe them our democracy — and we owe it to them to take this journey here and now in 2026.
Election Day is in just 14 days.
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Sixty-five years later, we’re riding the same route with some families of original Freedom Riders, with pastors and artists, and with wonderful partners like Faith Out Loud, led by Rev. Traci Blackmon.
Yesterday, we were at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, speaking with students about the Rides and voting rights, equity, and the common good.
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The caravan will continue through the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi on its way to New Orleans, which the original riders were never allowed to reach by bus.
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The stakes couldn’t be higher in 2026. All across the South, Republicans have redistricted to disenfranchise majority-Black and Brown districts purposefully – and they are counting on those voters to stay home on November 3.
So, The Ride is going to those districts, sharing music, art, stories, and voting education and materials in the same towns where people have been told their votes don’t matter.
Your donation of any amount helps turn out the vote in the areas MAGA most hopes we don’t reach.
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If you’ve saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately:
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We’re not stopping at New Orleans. We’re aiming to end the tour in Austin on Election Day, turning out the vote for James Talarico against MAGA’s Ken Paxton and other candidates who stand for the common good.
Only 14 days remain, and a Get Out The Vote operation this size runs on gifts from people like you. Thank you for being with us in the common good.
In this together,
Doug
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Vote Common Good inspires people of good conscience to wake up, stand up, and speak up against MAGA politics and Christian Nationalism. We have a proven record of success moving faith voters away from radical candidates and inspiring them to vote their values for the common good. Please consider a contribution today.
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.gif "A GIF of Rev. Dr. Michael Waters recounting the history of the original Freedom Ride.")
