Hey John,

#ByeAnita. In this little hashtag lies the origin story of Color Of Change PAC.

I’m Jenni, I lead the digital and communications teams for Color Of Change PAC. You don’t usually hear from me because most of my work is behind-the-scenes, but today I want to tell you our origin story, and how it's connected to re-electing Kim Foxx in 20 days.

(If you already know you support Kim Foxx, the most powerful action you can take is donating $3 to help our organizer Audrey in Chicago reach the thousands of people we need to win and continue transforming criminal justice. Otherwise, read on!)

Back in 2016, Color Of Change PAC barely existed. But over years of working on criminal justice campaigns, our team had started realizing that district attorneys, state’s attorneys, and other public prosecutors are some of the most powerful players in the justice system. They have the power to decide who gets charged with crimes and who doesn't, whether police are held accountable for harming and killing people, whether cash bail keeps poor people locked up, and so much more.

We heard about a candidate in Cook County, IL named Kim Foxx, who was challenging then-State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez. Alvarez had made national headlines for refusing for over a year to charge the police officer who shot 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times in Chicago. Kim Foxx was promising to hold officers accountable, to stop targeting Black and Latinx communities with low-level crimes, and to provide real safety and support for Cook County residents.

So I was hired (just as a short-term position back then!) to help elect Foxx, only a few weeks before the election. Back then, you seldom heard anything about prosecutor elections or the importance of showing up in them. So I sent digital ads all over Chicago informing tens of thousands of people about the upcoming election, making sure Black communities heard and recognized Kim Foxx’s name. And along with our partners on the ground, we got #ByeAnita trending all over social media.

Then that March, Election Day came around-- and Kim Foxx won! And in the last 4 years, she’s proven that fighting to elect her has been worth it. In just 4 years Kim Foxx has: 

• Helped thousands of struggling people get into rehab and job programs, and provided services for students at risk of incarceration
• Cleared the names of over 1000 people with racist marijuana convictions from the War on Drugs
• Led the nation in exonerations, with 94 innocent people’s names cleared

Kim Foxx’s election was the first time that Color Of Change PAC got to actually elect a candidate who improved Black people’s lives. We were literally making our vision for our organization a reality.

John, my biggest fear is that if another “tough-on-crime” prosecutor is elected, all of the progress Kim Foxx has made will be destroyed. That’s why I have to ask: will you donate $3 to help us reach all the undecided voters we can in the next 20 days and convince them to vote for Kim Foxx?

I don’t want Black people in Cook County to fear being thrown in jail for struggling with addiction or mental illness or poverty.

I don’t want young people’s lives wasted behind bars for mistakes they made as children.

And I definitely don’t want to see any police officer not have to answer for killing an innocent person in the streets.

But I’ve spoken with Audrey, our organizer in Chicago, and there are still a lot of people who aren’t sure whether to vote for Kim Foxx.

We have 20 days to change their minds. Are you with us?

Yes, I want to donate to help people break the cycle of mass incarceration and live safe, thriving lives under Kim Foxx's leadership!

Donate now

 

Thank you for all you do, John. Let’s win this.

Until justice is real,

Jenni, Arisha, Drew, Charles, Calyssa, Audrey, Cristel, Daniel, Tammi, Alex, Scotty and the Color of Change PAC team