Photos: People’s Organization For Progress
“The Attack On Voting Rights And The War On Black People,” will be the subject of a forum that will be held on Friday, October 9, 2026, 6:00pm at Bethany Baptist Church, 275 West Market Street in Newark, New Jersey.
The event is sponsored by the People’s Organization For Progress (POP) a grassroots group that fights for civil and human rights. It has been endorsed by the Martin Luther King People’s Convention for Justice and Resistance planning committee.
Speakers scheduled for the forum will include Rev. Dr. S. Raschaad Hoggard, Pastor, Bethany Baptist Church, Deacon Patricia Fullilove, Bethany Baptist Church, Deborah Smith-Gregory, President, NAACP Newark NJ Branch, Diane Colson, Member, Bethany Baptist Church, and Lawrence Hamm, Chairman, People’s Organization For Progress.
Rev. Dr Allen Simmons will serve as program moderator.
“We are having this forum to discuss the diabolical efforts being made by the Trump administration to interfere with the midterm elections and prevent citizens from freely exercising their voting rights,” Lawrence Hamm, Chairman, People’s Organization For Progress stated.
“We will also examine the particular impact this is having on the Black community, and what can be done about it,” Hamm said.
The upcoming forum in Newark is the eighth of a series on this topic. Others were held in Montclair, Plainfield, Newark, Maplewood, Hackensack, East Orange, and Riverton. Future programs are scheduled for Paterson, Roselle, and Newark.
The program will have two parts. The first part will consist of a panel discussion. The panelists will include community leaders and activists. The second part will consist of audience participation.
Support for The Rally for the Black Agenda that will take place in the state capital Trenton, NJ will be discussed at the forum. The rally will happen this Thursday, October 15th, 10:00am on the steps of the Statehouse, 125 West State Street.
The event is being sponsored by a broad coalition of elected officials, religious leaders, community activists, civil rights advocates, labor unions, and grassroots organizations.
“We definitely support this rally. People will be boarding busses in different cities to converge on the Statehouse. POP will have a bus leaving from Newark. Our bus is free for those who wish to go with us,” he said.
Hamm said the country is imperiled and facing a political and possibly a constitutional crisis.
“The racist and fascist Trump administration, ultra-conservative super majority on the U.S. Supreme Court, and the right-wing MAGA Republican majority in Congress are engaged in a multi-pronged attack on voting rights,” he asserted.
“I believe that we are witnessing an attempt right by Trump and his collaborators to steal the midterm elections,” he said.
“Trump can see the handwriting on the wall. He knows that his poll numbers are way down,” he said.
“He is becoming increasingly unpopular because of his failed war in Iran, troubled economy, skyrocketing inflation, and attempts to subvert the democratic process,” he said.
“Everyday he is hearing that he and his party could lose the House of Representatives and maybe even the Senate. This is why he is interfering with mail-in voting, supporting racist gerrymandering, and telling his supporters to cheat like hell,” he said.
“Trump has even said he is not ruling out invoking the Insurrection Act or declaring a national emergency during the midterm elections,” he said.
“The People’s Organization For Progress opposes any effort of the Trump administration to interfere with or steal the midterm elections.”
“We oppose any attempts by the President or Speaker Mike Johnson to prevent the seating of a new Democratic majority in the House of Representatives should one be elected,” he said.
“We oppose any attempts by Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act, declare a national emergency, or declare martial law during the midterm elections, “ Hamm said.
“Trump is telling people to cheat like hell. We must tell people to vote like hell. People must vote in record numbers in order to thwart any attempts to steal this election,” he said.
Hamm said that during the program they are going to discuss how the voting rights of African Americans are being undermined.
However, the discussion will not end there but will include the attacks on black people in the economy, education, health, criminal justice and other important areas.
“Also, at the program we are going to call for massive voter registration from now until the cutoff date for New Jersey which is Tuesday, October 13th,” he said.
“More importantly, we will call for massive voter mobilization from the start of early voting in New Jersey which is Saturday, October 24th until Election Day on Tuesday, November 3rd,” he declared.
For more information on the forum or to reserve a seat on the bus to Trenton please call People’s Organization for Progress at 973 801-0001.
