John, this email is long, but I felt it was important to tell you my story – my full story.

But if you can't stick around, are you able to make a donation to my campaign for Senate before my mid-month fundraising deadline?

I was brought into this world via an emergency forceps delivery. My mother was denied admission to the hospital while in labor with me because of the color of her skin, and I was left with a scar from the ordeal.

We both nearly died.

I was raised in El Paso, Texas, where my family was treated as lesser. My father was a lieutenant colonel in the Army who served in both WWII and the Korean War, and my mother served as the first Black clerical worker at Fort Bliss – and yet, despite their roles, we were still discriminated against every single day.

I was a teenager when we moved to southern California. At the age of 15, I wanted to be a cheerleader at my high school. But unfortunately, I didn't look like the kind of person that the selection committee would choose for the girl's cheerleading team.

I could've just accepted my fate and given up there – but that's not the kind of person my mother, who was one of just 12 students to integrate her college, raised me to be. So instead, I partnered with the NAACP and worked to integrate the team. I became my school's first Black girl cheerleader, along with two other girls of color that year  – and since then other girls of color have followed in our footsteps.

John, after that moment, I knew that I wanted to make the world a better place for those who weren't seen or had been left behind – but I never considered getting involved in politics until I met Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, our nation's first Black congresswoman.

Rep. Chisholm told me that I had to get involved in politics if I wanted to make lasting change for Black women like the two of us. Through her mentorship, I learned the ins and outs of politics and worked on her historic presidential campaign – and eventually, I followed in her footsteps and ran for Congress as well.

In a special election, I won a seat in Congress – and I've spent every moment since then fighting to change our nation for the better. I've been a proud champion for income equality, racial justice, criminal justice reform, cannabis legalization and decriminalization, LGBTQ+ equality, reproductive rights and more. I've spent more late nights than I can count fighting to make our nation a better place for all – but I'm not done fighting yet.

That's why I made the decision to run for Senate – but victory is only in reach with your help.

Right now, I'm 3 points away from qualifying for the general election, and I can only pull ahead with the help of grassroots supporters like you. So I'm humbly asking, ahead of my mid-month deadline fundraising deadline in a few days:

Will you donate any amount that you can spare to my Senate campaign? Truly, every dollar makes a difference.

Thank you for listening.

– Barbara