At one time, African-American churches were in the vanguard of the civil rights struggle. Bus and food-counter boycotts throughout the South were planned and organized in churches, the one institution in black life that had moral authority and civic influence everyone respected.

That is the spirit that the Congressional Black Caucus is trying to reignite after a summit last month with the Conference of National Black Churches in Washington. The caucus wants to spur black churches to take up the cause of voter-identification laws as the moral equivalent of Jim Crow and the battle against segregation that spurred action a generation ago.

Fifteen states, including Michigan, have moved to make voting more difficult for the estimated 21 million Americans who don't have government-issued photo identification that meets the criteria for voting beginning in November. Thirty-eight states are weighing similar legislation. Ohio requires an ID but not a photo.

Dozens of legal challenges have been filed against the ID laws, but many may not receive court rulings until after the presidential election, which could be close. The Republicans who took over state governments with the 2010 races have pushed voter ID bills because, they contend, voter fraud is rampant. In reality it isn't, but it is no coincidence that most people who will be kept from voting by the ID laws generally vote Democratic.

During the last century, when black voter suppression was enforced with poll taxes and literacy tests, black churches rallied their members to protest such blatant injustice. They fought the laws in the courts and rallied in the streets.

Although poll taxes have been eliminated, voter suppression has taken a more insidious form. Black churches should ensure access to the polls by mobilizing people in the pews to get properly registered. Churches have financial resources that could be used to help those people who can't afford the necessary ID on their own.

None of these efforts should stop after Election Day. If Americans have learned anything over the years, it is that efforts to discourage people from voting never stop. They become more creative and cynical.

First Published June 11, 2012, 4:15 a.m.