Huntsville pastor hopes 'Vote or Pick Cotton' sign encourages people to vote

HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF) - Every day, hundreds of people drive by a sign on in northwest Huntsville that reads "Vote or Pick Cotton." Now the pastor of St. Luke the Christian Church is defending those words on his sign.

"In order to get things done, you're going to have to ruffle some feathers of the status quo,"  said the Rev. T.C. Johnson.

And Johnson isn't afraid to do just that. His church's sign is located on the busy Sparkman Drive, where hundred, if not thousands, drive by every day.

Johnson said the message he wants to convey is that voting is the people's power. He said it's not about who you vote for. It's about exercising that right.

"Not to exercise it is like the burden of picking cotton," he said.

Johnson said that if people don't vote, we may as well not have the right that some Americans worked so hard to get.

Some say the sign is taking it too far, but Johnson disagrees.

"I knew people would perhaps think that way, but I'm not worried about that," Johnson said. "In fact, when I was putting the sign up, a young guy came by to ask if it was racist. I said, 'why would that be racist?' He said, 'well, it's speaking to African Americans. I said, 'you don't think whites picked cotton?'"

Johnson said the irony of the sign is that it speaks to everyone on every side.

"The sign was not put up in a mean spirit at all or to degrade anyone. It leaves a question mark for your thoughts and conversations we need to have," he said.

Johnson said it doesn't matter which way you vote as long as you actually make it to the polls. With that said, it's important to note that there are Hillary-Kane signs posted on the church's property outside the front door.

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