John,

I was fortunate to travel back to my birthplace, Selma, Alabama, with my friend Rep. John Lewis to commemorate the historic march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge known as “Bloody Sunday.” At the time, the voting age population of Dallas County was 30,000, more than half of whom were African American. However, only a few hundred black residents had successfully registered to vote. On March 7, 1965, John and hundreds of other civil rights leaders attempted to peacefully march across the bridge to advocate for voting rights and racial equality.

Law enforcement officials were determined to prevent the freedom fighters from crossing the bridge, and the peaceful activists were brutally beaten. Black history is American history, and we can never forget the struggle and hardship Black Americans faced when fighting for civil rights and the fundamental right to vote.

We need to carry the lessons from the civil rights movement with us in order to create a better future.

Rep. John Lewis with Suzan and her family commemorating the historic civil rights march known as “Bloody Sunday.”

But in 2013, the Supreme Court invalidated an important provision in the Voting Rights Act. Since that decision, conservatives have passed state and local laws that suppress Black, Latino, senior, and student votes. They close polling locations in minority neighborhoods, making it harder, not easier, for many people to vote.

I am a proud co-sponsor of the Voting Rights Advancement Act to ensure all Americans can exercise their right to vote. When we see injustices happening before our eyes, it’s on all of us to speak out and continue to fight for equal opportunity for all Americans.

I hope you will join me in honoring Black History Month. We stand on the shoulders of freedom fighters like John Lewis, and it’s their fortitude and strength that inspires us to do better.

Thank you,

Suzan