Time - USA (2021-03-01)

SVETLANA

TIKHANOVSKAYA

38 • Demanding democracy

BY JUAN GUAIDÓ

Raphael

Warnock

51 • MAKING

HISTORY

BY BERNICE A. KING

Raphael Warnock, an heir to
the Ebenezer Baptist Church
pulpit in Atlanta—a pulpit where
both my father and grandfather
preached—is now the first Black
person elected to the U.S. Senate
from Georgia. Following one of
the most politically polarizing
and hateful election seasons our
country has seen since the days
of segregationists George Wallace
and Bull Connor, a Black pastor
ascended to one of the highest
offices in the land. His parents
grew up in the Jim Crow South
when Black Americans were denied
the right to vote, and his mother
once picked tobacco and cotton.
Decades later, Congressman John
Lewis—a civil rights leader who
fought to end Jim Crow laws, a
staunch advocate for voting rights
and a member of Ebenezer—sat
under the pastoral leadership
of Raphael Warnock. It is no
coincidence that Warnock’s rise to
political power came this year, in
the wake of the fall of mighty oaks
of the movement—the Rev. Joseph
Lowery, the Rev. C.T. Vivian and
Congressman Lewis. Warnock is
the answer to the prayers of our
ancestors and the fruit of their
labor. His election represents the
dawn of a new South.

King is the CEO of the Martin Luther
King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social
Change

WARNOCK: JESSICA MCGOWAN—GETTY IMAGES; TIKHANOVSKAYA: SERGEI GRITS—AP

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya is

an example of resistance and

dignity for all of us who are

fighting for democracy in the

world. Tikhanovskaya’s firm

objective, as the voice of Be-

larus’ opposition, is to en-

sure that her country holds

free, fair and verifiable elec-

tions, all political prisoners are

freed, and exiles can return.

Her 2020 run for office against

Alexander Lukashenko—

Europe’s longest- serving

leader— galvanized support

throughout Belarus, as citi-

zens clamored for a fresh face

in government. When Luka-

shenko claimed victory in a

purported landslide, despite

a belief that Tikhanovskaya

was the true winner and wide-

spread calls for a fair election,

the people of Belarus took to

the streets. Tens of thousands

protested the regime, embold-

ened by Tikhanovskaya’s te-

nacity, bravery and daring. In

Belarus, the people have set

off on a one-way road to de-

mocracy, and that road can

only end in freedom.

Guaidó is the leader of

Venezuela’s opposition to the

Nicolás Maduro regime

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