Friends, Happy Juneteenth.

On this day, 159 years ago, the last enslaved people in Galveston Bay, Texas, learned they were free. Since then, June 19 has become a day to celebrate the Black experience in our country with community gatherings and reflections on the journey towards equality.

In the years that followed emancipation and Reconstruction, Jim Crow era laws stripped away rights and freedoms from Black Americans. We’ve seen this pattern before in our country, where we have moments of incredible movement forwards, and then we face a powerful backlash, and violence rains down on the Black community. Tactics like poll taxes, literacy tests, and violent intimidation made it harder for Black Americans to vote and be a part of our democracy. 

To this day, we’re still seeing bigoted lawmakers place hurdles between Black voters and the ballot box, because they’re afraid they’d lose their power once Black Americans are able to fully use theirs. 

We encourage you to honor this day by:

• Checking the status of your voter registration
• Supporting your local leaders who are championing voting rights
• Talk with your friends and family about their plan to vote in November 

Through mobilization and education, Fair Fight is fighting to support Black liberation and Black voters’ access to the ballot and ensuring everyone’s vote counts. Your gift today helps us combat the suppression and centuries-long disenfranchisement of Black voters in the United States as we work to ensure every voter’s voice is heard.

Vice President Harris has declared Juneteenth a National Day of Action on Voting, to increase voter engagement and registrations. Fair Fight is doing our part by making sure voters in Georgia and across the country have the information they need to cast their ballots, and we’re working hard to stop modern-day voter suppression tactics like mass challenges. We know it will take a full-scale organizing effort to push back against anti-voter attacks and ensure free and fair elections for all.

Thank you for protecting the freedom to vote.

Carol Anderson, Fair Fight