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John, that's me you're looking at.
I was born in El Paso, Texas, during the height of segregation. My father served as a lieutenant colonel in WWII and the Korean War. My mother worked at the USO and was the first Black clerical worker in Fort Bliss.
And yet, despite all the service that my parents provided for our nation, despite all of the racial barriers that they shattered, we were still forbidden to drink out of the same water fountains as white folks. We were still seen as lesser.
And maybe I would've believed that sentiment if I didn't have a mother as dedicated to equality as mine was. From a young age, my mother taught me that if people refuse to make a place for me at the table, I'll just have to make one for myself.
And that is a lesson I have carried with me my entire life.
When I was in high school and was told I couldn't join the cheerleading squad because it was exclusively for white girls, I partnered with the NAACP and became my school's first Black cheerleader.
When I went on to become the president of Mills College's Black Student Union and had the honor of meeting Shirley Chisholm, our nation's FIRST African American congresswoman, I was driven by Congresswoman Chisholm's mentorship to seek out a life of public service in D.C. It's there that I began a decades long career on Capitol Hill – working from an intern all the way up to one day following in Chisholm's footsteps and becoming a congresswoman.
John, it's that lesson that led me to the decision to run for Senate now, where there are currently no Black women serving.
But this fight is proving to be anything but easy. Between Fox News smearing my record to attempt to weaken my legacy and the GOP raising millions to keep deeply progressive candidates like me out of the Senate, I can only do this with your help.
So please, John: Can I count on you to split a contribution of $10 or more between my campaign and The Collective PAC to help me make up my steep fundraising deficit and send me to the Senate? With many California voters still undecided, this is anyone's race, and I need your help to tip the odds in my favor.
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If you've stored your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will be processed immediately and split between Barbara Lee and The Collective PAC.
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Thank you for taking this trip down memory lane with me.
Barbara Lee
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The Collective PAC is strategically focused on creating a truly equitable democracy where our nation’s local, state and federal governments have diverse and talented elected leadership and Black people are fully represented in positions of
power to create the policies necessary to progress our communities forward. Since our inception in 2016, we have helped 110 candidates win general elections at the local, state and federal levels. We strive to support the next wave of
progressive and unapologetic Black candidates who will usher in a sea of change in our political system while helping America fulfill its promise of democracy by creating a government that will truly be for the people and of the people.
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To Donate by Check: PO Box 15320, DC 20003
| Paid for by the Collective PAC; not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. |
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