We do not have the luxury of simply turning the page on this ugly and painful chapter in our nation’s history

We can’t take our democracy for granted. What we witnessed three years ago made that plain.

Our democracy came to a halt when a violent, white supremacist mob — incited by the former occupant of the White House and insurrectionist Republicans — attacked the Capitol to try to prevent the peaceful transfer of power and silence the will of the people.

Today, I am reflecting on just how close we came to losing it all. All in an attempt to silence the will of the people, particularly the record number of Black and brown voters who made their voices heard in the 2020 election. And I’m reminded that white supremacy is a clear and present threat to all of us. 

The events on January 6th were not happenstance — insurrectionists pulled from the same playbook used to inflict policy violence on communities of color for generations. And we do not have the luxury of simply turning the page on this ugly and painful chapter in our nation’s history. Not when there are members of Congress who aided and abetted this insurrection who are still in Congress. Who have not yet been held accountable. Who spout revisionist history and continuously undermine and roll back voting and civil rights.

And certainly not when the former occupant of the White House has proven he is more dangerous than ever and willing to do anything to get back into the Oval Office. He’s even said if elected, he would be a dictator on “day one.”

What took place on January 6th was traumatic for everyone involved, including Congressional staff, facilities workers, Capitol Police officers, Members of Congress, and the American public. We owe it to them — and to those who lost their lives that day — to never grow complacent, to be relentless in our pursuit of accountability, and to do everything in our power to ensure an attack like this never happens again.

We owe it to them to keep defending our democracy against far-right extremists. We all have a role to play to root out white supremacy in all of its forms and to safeguard our democracy as we approach the critical 2024 election, and I’m hoping I can count on you to face the critical challenges ahead alongside me.

Democracy won the battle that day, but the war against it is still being waged every day by Republican extremists. With your support, we can keep fighting to ensure the will of the people is upheld in our elections. And we can keep governing like our democracy depends on it, because it does. 

In solidarity,

Ayanna