When our Moral Movement began speaking out against extremism in Raleigh at the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, I tried to be clear that we were not there to oppose Republicans but, instead, the extremists who had taken leadership of the Republican Party. We did not oppose their policies because they were conservative, but because they were morally indefensible, constitutionally inconsistent and economically insane. Thom Tillis led the extremists in North Carolina in 2013 and then joined Burr in the Senate in 2014. Together, they have not only blocked judicial appointments, but also have worked together to obstruct anything proposed by our nation’s first African-American president.

As North Carolinians go to the polls this week and next Tuesday, we are grateful that the federal court restored voting rights to North Carolinians that had been taken away by extremists in 2013, calling out the law’s “almost surgical” racial intent. Even still, we returned to federal court in Winston-Salem this week to ask for an injunction against continued voter-suppression efforts. This election is no joke.

Burr may apologize for his comments about Secretary Clinton, but he boasts of his consistent record of obstructing candidates who are African-American women. We who believe in freedom cannot laugh this election off. We must vote like never before to say that we will not accept extremism as a political inevitability. North Carolina is moving forward together, not one step back.

The Rev. William Barber is the head of the North Carolina NAACP and author of The Third Reconstruction.