Lightbringers…

Great Rising Your Highness, I hope you are exceedingly well. Children of the sun I invite you all ring Mother Earth’s Great Bell.

This Sunday the bell has a very specific sound. It sounds like a ballot sliding into a box. Today, November 1, is the last day of early voting in the District, and Tuesday, November 3, is Election Day. So this week’s edition of The Frequency is tuned to one station: the long, beautiful line of Black musicians who told us, over and over again, that our voice is our power.

The Soundtrack Was Always Political

In 1965, Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions gave us “People Get Ready,” a gospel train song that rode straight into the Civil Rights Movement. That same season, the movement was marching for the ballot itself, and Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The music and the march were moving in the same direction.

A year earlier, Sam Cooke recorded “A Change Is Gonna Come,” and Nina Simone sat at the piano and refused to be polite with “Mississippi Goddam.” One prayed for change. One demanded it. Both were right.

Then a son of Washington, DC, Marvin Gaye, asked the whole country the question we still have to answer every election season: What’s Going On. Across the water, Bob Marley and the Wailers answered with the instructions: “Get Up, Stand Up.” Detroit, Chicago, DC, Kingston. One diaspora, one message.

Why Your Voice Matters in the District This Week

DC knows better than anyone what it means to fight for a voice. We didn’t elect our own mayor until after the Home Rule Act of 1973, and we still don’t have a voting member of Congress. So when the District does get to choose, we choose loud.

And this one is big. According to NBC Washington’s voter guide, the ballot includes an open seat for Mayor, an open seat for DC’s Delegate to the House as Eleanor Holmes Norton retires, two at-large Council seats, Council Chair, Attorney General, several ward seats, and Initiative 86. It’s also the first general election using ranked-choice voting, so you can rank up to five candidates. Read your ballot slowly, Your Highness. Take your time.

I’m not here to tell you who to vote for. I’m here to tell you what our elders sang: get ready, stand up, and use the voice they bled for. As a veteran who raised my right hand to defend the Constitution, I can tell you the oath means the most when we, the people, actually show up.

Your Ballot Playlist

• The Impressions — “People Get Ready”
• Sam Cooke — “A Change Is Gonna Come”
• Nina Simone — “Mississippi Goddam”
• Marvin Gaye — “What’s Going On”
• Bob Marley & the Wailers — “Get Up, Stand Up”

Put it on in the car, in your earbuds in line, or on the speaker while you fill out your ranked-choice ballot at the kitchen table. Then keep the frequency going with today’s independent DMV artists on SoulFusion Radio.

PUT YOUR VOICE (AND YOUR MONEY) WHERE THE MUSIC IS

• 🗳️ Vote early today: Early voting runs until 7 p.m. today at any DC early vote center. Find one at earlyvoting.dcboe.org
• 📍 Vote Tuesday: Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on November 3 at any Election Day vote center. If you’re in line at 8, stay in line.
• 📬 Drop your mail ballot: Find a drop box by 8 p.m. Election Day
• ✅ Not registered? DC offers same-day registration at vote centers. See what to bring
• 📻 Tune in: Ride with DC’s finest on SoulFusion Radio
• 🐍 Build the coalition: Discover and support independent DMV artists at COBRAMusic.net
• 💵 The $5 Challenge: After you vote, spend $5 directly on a DMV artist: a download, a sticker, a show. Cast your ballot, then cast your dollar.

#TheFrequency #PeopleGetReady #DCVotes #EarlyVoting #HomeRule #BlackMusicHistory #ProtestMusic #CurtisMayfield #MarvinGaye #NinaSimone #BobMarley #SoulFusionRadio #COBRAMusic

Follow the L𓂀ght…