John,

My name is Dyneco Gibson, and I am the Director of Campaigns and Engagement here at the New Pennsylvania Project and the affiliated, New PA Project Education Fund. This past weekend, the New PA Project Education Fund, showed up and showed out around PA to commemorate the life and work of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I wanted to share a bit more about myself and highlight one of the events I took part in.

But first, there are critical elections taking place in PA this year, and we need to start now to ensure voters are registered and ready to make their voices heard. Will you help support our voter registration and engagement campaigns by donating $25 today?

My passion for community activism began in Rochester, NY, where I mentored youth and volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for children in foster care. I worked in the disaster services department for the American Red Cross and the Mobile Crisis Team, where I assisted people who were having a mental health crisis.

Now, as a resident of Coatesville, I believe this work to register and engage voters is important because I want my teenage daughter to know that as a minority woman, her voice is important. And for her to remember that African Americans and women did not always have the right to vote.

On March 7, 1965, 600 people set out on a 54-mile march from Selma, Alabama, as a peaceful demonstration to secure African American voting rights and to commemorate the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson.

Unfortunately, the demonstrators were met with violence. However, their march was the prelude to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which removed voting barriers for Black people across the US.

This past Monday in Coatesville, in honor of this historic event, we re-enacted the historic Selma March. About 500 marchers showed up, including myself.

It has only been 59 years since Black men and women were granted the ability to vote without facing blatant barriers and discrimination at the ballot box, including literacy tests, poll taxes, and more – less than one lifetime.

In 2024, the fight to protect voting rights is ongoing. However, this November, we have the chance to elect legislators who will secure voting rights in PA, end gerrymandering, and more. How? The entire PA House and half of the State Senate are on the ballot.

We must start now to prepare for these critical elections. Can you rush $25 now to help the New Pennsylvania Project register voters and ensure they have everything they need to make their voices heard?

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Onward,

Dyneco Gibson
Director of Campaigns and Engagement
New Pennsylvania Project