The Attack On Voting Rights And The War On Black People,” will be the subject of a forum that will be held today, Friday, October 23, 2026, 7:00pm at Metropolitan AME Zion Church, 140 Belmont Avenue in Jersey City, 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.
“One of the main reasons we are having this program is to discuss why it is important to vote during the midterm elections. These will be the most consequential midterms so far during this century,” Lawrence Hamm, Chairman, People’s Organization For Progress stated.
“During this election we are choosing the people who will represent us in both houses of Congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate. The lawmakers we send there will impact the future direction of this country,” Hamm said.
“This is why it is so important that we vote in this election which has already begun. Mail-in voting is already in progress. Early in-person voting will take place from October 24th to November 1st,” he said.
“And of course people should vote in massive numbers on Election Day, November 3rd,” he said.
Speakers scheduled for the forum will include Rev. Eli Smith, Senior Pastor, Metropolitan AME Zion Church, Pamela Johnson, winner of the Democratic primary for Hudson County Commissioner, Toni Irvin, community activist, Jersey City Councilman Frank Gilmore, and Lawrence Hamm.
Rev. Dr Allen Simmons will serve as program moderator.
“Another important reason for this forum is 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 Jersey City is the ninth 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.
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 in real time an attempt right by Trump and his collaborators to steal the midterm elections,” he said.
“Trump has even said he is not ruling out sending ICE agents and National guard troops to polling places, invoking the Insurrection Act, declaring a national emergency during the midterm elections, and he has urged his supporters to cheat like hell,” he said.
“We oppose any attempts by Trump to steal the election, invoke the Insurrection Act, declare a national emergency, or declare martial law during the midterm elections,” Hamm said.
However, the discussion will not end with the attack on voting rights but will include the attacks on Black people in the economy, education, health, criminal justice and other important areas.
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.
