John, I was born and raised in El Paso, Texas, next to a lead and copper smelter.

I was one of the lucky ones. More than 60% of the kids who grew up near me got lead poisoning.

And tragically, this story is all too common. For generations now, the fossil fuel industry has taken advantage of poor, marginalized and often communities of color.

Why? Because fossil fuel execs know that poorer communities don't hold the political or financial power to stop them. So, they look the other way as they poison our water, our food and our air. 

John, I was one of the lucky ones – but that cannot be said for the 71% of Black Americans who live in counties in violation of federal air pollution standards, the 11.2% of Black children who are poisoned by lead or entire communities like Benton Harbor and Flint, Michigan.

It is incomprehensible that now, decades later, communities are still being poisoned. This is environmental racism in its truest sense – and it's something that I am dedicated to fighting with every tool available to me. 

That's why I'm running for the Senate – so I can do what others are too afraid to do and take on powerful forces like the fossil fuel industry. But I'm up against Adam Schiff and Katie Porter, who are both sitting on millions that they have raised from millionaire donors across the country, and I need your help to compete with them.

So I'm humbly asking, will you chip in whatever you can spare to my campaign for Senate now so I can continue my fight for progress?

Thank you.

Barbara Lee