All around our nation, people are processing the stunning results of the mid-term elections. While it represents a major shift in the balance of power in the upcoming Congress, it also represents a major step forward in the diversity of people serving in Congress and in state governments. At a time when DEI is constantly under attack by the current administration, voters elected candidates who embody the diversity of our population in terms of gender, race, culture, religion, and sexual orientation. The first video posted below provides a summary of the amazing diversity of newly elected officials.
While the results of the 2026 mid-term elections will go down in history as an affirmation of our nation’s diversity, it is essential that we remember and honor those who sowed the seeds and paid the price that enabled the diverse electorate of today. Throughout our history, efforts to expand the right to vote were met with fierce resistance including economic retaliation, intimidation, beatings, and murder. The struggle for the right to vote was one of the main pillars of the modern Civil Rights Movement. Throughout the South, people risked their lives and lively hoods to participate in the electoral process. Perhaps the most resistant and violent state during those years was Mississippi. The second and third videos posted below give just a glimpse into what it took to sow the seeds that yielded the fruit of the 2026 mid-term elections. At the time of writing this post, one of the election results yet to be determined is for a Senate seat in Mississippi. The Democratic candidate is a Black man who is in a virutal tie with his white Republican opponent. If he wins, he will be the first Black Senator from that state since Reconstruction. Yet regardless of the eventual result of that election, we need to grasp how amazing this is in light of the history depicted in the videos. Remember and honor those who sowed the seeds and paid the price for daring to act on their faith that all people are made in the image of God.