We must not ignore this election.

In 2008, black folks went to the polls in unprecedented numbers to elect our first African-American president, Barack Obama. The shame is that just two years later, when our president pleaded with us to vote in the 2010 elected to keep his Democratic allies in control of Congress, most of us chose to ignore him — a choice we would live to regret.

We stayed home while more Republicans voted, allowing “Tea Party” Republicans to take majority control of Congress and giving them the power to block many of the progressive policies President Obama tried to enact.

On Tuesday, Nov. 6, we’ll see if we’ve learned from that bitter lesson.

We’ll have the rare chance to cast ballots to put a check on “45,” a man who has brought total disgrace to the highest elected office in this nation. He won’t be on the ballot, but his Republican enablers, the ones who support all of his vile actions, will be. They will never hold him accountable, so they must be voted out and replaced by Democrats who will.

So on Nov. 6, let’s honor God, ourselves and our blessed ancestors who fought, bled and died to give us the right to vote.

No excuses.

We must not ignore this one!

OPHELIA GILLIAM

Henrico County