We just got word that a primary challenger is considering running to unseat me.

I knew when we launched our effort to rightfully obtain a second-Black majority voting district in Alabama in 2021, we’d be fighting hard against MAGA Republicans to secure a victory for Black voters.

But now, I’m being challenged at home — and not by a MAGA Republican — by someone looking to manufacture a divide between the rural and urban voters in our district. I’ve fought hard to secure resources for both the rural and urban communities in our district and will continue to do so! We know that this district is stronger together, from the urban cities of Birmingham and Tuscaloosa to the rural towns of Camden and York!

Now, I’m being forced to fight on two fronts: securing a second Black-majority district AND defending my seat at home. My challenger could announce as early as FRIDAY— so I need to show them I have the grassroots support to defend my seat. Please, rush a donation of $10 here:

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This challenger is already making baseless claims about the tension in serving both urban Birmingham and the rural Black Belt — something I have successfully done for years.

Here are a few examples of just how I've done it:

• I’ve delivered National Park Service Historic Preservation Funds to entities across the Black Belt.
• I secured almost 25% of the nationally distributed African American Civil Rights funds for the Black Belt counties of Dallas and Perry ($1.6 million) AND projects in Birmingham and Montgomery ($1.3 million).
• I secured $2.5 million dollars for HBCUs in both rural and urban CD 7 from the HIstoric Preservation Fund.
• I regularly submit an equal ratio of urban and rural community projects to the Appropriations Committee annually.
• I spearheaded securing President Obama’s proclamation to create the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument in 2016.
• I passed the Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Act in 2022 to bring new funding and tourism opportunities to the 14 counties of Alabama’s Black Belt that would otherwise not be realized.

Listen, Selma is my home — I’m a proud daughter of the Black Belt — I know its beauty and its struggles. I’ve also proudly represented our major urban centers like Birmingham and Tuscaloosa for more than a decade. We are America’s Civil Rights district and we know that we are strengthened by our unity!

That’s why I know exactly how to be an effective advocate for EVERYONE in my district. But I can’t do it alone and I’m going to need help starting right now if I’m going to be ready to defend my seat. I need to raise $7,500 by tomorrow night — can you chip in $10 right now to help?