A large coalition of Black faith leaders is calling for a boycott of Home Depot over its alleged “indifference” to Georgia’s newly passed election legislation.
Bishop Reginald T. Jackson of Methodist Episcopal churches in the “Peach State” told The New York Times this week that, for all intents and purposes, Home Depot cannot play Switzerland in the state’s political wars between Democrats and Republicans.
“[Home Depot] demonstrated an indifference, a lack of response to the call, not only from clergy, but a call from other groups to speak out in opposition to this legislation,” Mr. Jackson, who oversees 534 churches, told the newspaper.
The bishop’s overall coalition touts over 1,000 churches in its efforts to penalize the Georgia-based company for shying away from partisan politics.
“We don’t believe this is simply a political matter,” Mr. Jackson countered to his critics. “This is a matter that deals with securing the future of this democracy, and the greatest right in this democracy is the right to vote.”
Similar political doomsday warnings were issued by Timothy McDonald III, the pastor of the First Iconium Baptist Church in Atlanta.
“This is not just a Georgia issue; we’re talking about democracy in America that is under threat,” the pastor said. “We’ve got to use whatever leverage and power, spiritual fortitude that we have, including our dollars, to help people to understand that this is a national campaign.”
The Times noted that one of the company’s founders, Arthur Blank has voiced support for voting rights.
“The most appropriate approach for us to take is to continue to underscore our belief that all elections should be accessible, fair and secure,” Home Deport recently said in a statement regarding SB 202.
Supporters of the new law and its ID requirements say that likening it to Jim Crow-era regulations is absurd.
“What I find extremely offensive is the narrative from the left that Black people are not smart enough, not educated enough, not desirous enough for education to do what every other culture and race does in this country: Get an ID,” Rep. Burgess Owens said Tuesday.
The Utah Republican said that “true racism” can be found within the “soft bigotry of low expectations” of the modern Democratic Party.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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