My grandfather was a great man. Born in 1876, he grew up to be a great entrepreneur, healthcare provider, and advocate for southern Black communities during the Jim Crow era. He owned a string of funeral homes and I remember spending a lot of my time there as a child.

Grandpa was a leader in the Black community at a time when our rights were not guaranteed — when our ability to vote was actively denied and our rights were withheld. But because my grandfather owned those funeral homes and he could support civil rights leaders by letting them meet in his buildings.

So as a child, I would watch as Dr. King and other great civil rights leaders planned and discussed their strategy to win our rights, including the right to vote. I was a witness to the fight for Black rights in my youth, joined in that fight as an adult, and I am continuing that fight through to this day. Which is why I am so disturbed by this:

Donald Trump has no problem flirting with autocracy and this is just the latest example.

But our right to vote is sacred. Generations of Americans fought for voting rights and gave their lives to protect it. And no presidential candidate should ever undermine that right.

Every American should be upset by this, but especially rural voters because Washington consistently forgets about rural communities and leaves us behind — and our best recourse is voting.

The One Country Project is standing up for rural communities and defending our voting rights. But we need to do this together. If you can stand with the One Country Project by donating $3 today, we will have the power and momentum to defend democracy and support rural voters on election day. Can I count on you to chip in $3 today?

Our parents and grandparents fought for these rights, now it's our turn.

Mike