John,

I’m Kyle Bibby, chief of campaigns at Color Of Change. This week, we celebrate the 19th anniversary of our organization’s founding, nearly two decades of work toward our collective vision of a more humane, less hostile world for Black people.

I’m so grateful that you’re here to celebrate it with us. I’d like to share some of my story about the path that led me to COC and the work I’m proud to be moving forward. But first, I want to personally ask if you’ll make a contribution of $X or more in recognition of our anniversary to further our work to make justice real for all of us:

Donate: [link removed]

Our organization was founded in the catastrophic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which illustrated all the things we already knew about geographic segregation, generational poverty, the impacts of what we’ve done to our planet and the ways in which structural racism undergirds systems that are supposed to protect us.

The simple fact was that no one in power was nervous about disappointing Black people — and we needed to mobilize a movement to change that.

Since then, Color Of Change has made vital progress as one of the nation’s leading racial justice organizations to help people respond effectively to injustice in the world around us. Just take a look some wins from the past year made possible by the dedication of members like you:

- Collaborated with the National Education Association to train more than 1,100 people across the nation on advocating for Black students in local school board meetings and challenging right-wing book bans.
- Pressured district attorneys’ offices nationwide to support Black communities through our Winning Justice initiative. Our actions pushed the Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney’s Office to reduce the number of people being held in the bug-infested, squalid and overcrowded Fulton County Jail by 828 people — nearly 23% — in just three months. This was followed by a coalition victory to stop construction of a new $2 billion Fulton County Jail in favor of a significantly less costly renovation.
- Building off of our federal phone justice coalition’s successful efforts to push Congress to pass the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022, the Federal Communication Commission took action to implement this legislation and voted unanimously in mid-July to dramatically reduce phone and video call rates in prisons and jails across the country. This will help keep incarcerated people and their families connected and result in millions of dollars in savings once it goes into effect in January 2025.
- Thanks to the efforts of COC and the Coalition for Free and Fair Filing to advocate for free filing services, the IRS announced it would expand its free Direct File program to all 50 states and the District of Columbia in 2025. The expansion will save taxpayers countless hours and millions of dollars in filing fees by bypassing tax prep companies that prey on Black and Brown families.

The path leading me to my position at COC has shown me time and time again the true power of organizing. Prior to joining Color Of Change in 2022, I served as a Marine Corps infantry captain in the Afghanistan War and as one of the co-founders of the Black Veterans Project. I served as a Presidential Management Fellow in the Office of Management and Budget under the Obama administration; as director at the New Jersey Reentry Corporation, a nonprofit working to remove barriers to employment for citizens returning from incarceration; and as deputy political director for Common Defense, the largest grassroots membership organization of progressive veterans. I’m grateful to be able to bring my experience in government, community organizing and legislative advocacy to leading COC’s team of campaigners and members in our ongoing work to build real power for Black people in America.

We can achieve so much more working together than any one of us can accomplish alone. Together, we’re leading a movement that is winning for Black people and allies, and we’re relying on your continued support. Will you make a gift today to fuel our campaigns for justice?

Donate: [link removed]

We have work ahead of us to achieve the power it will take to protect our communities from harm. Together, we can demand decisive action from politicians and corporations to end the injustices that hold us back and bring about the change we deserve.

Thank you for all that you do.

Until Justice Is Real,

Kyle Bibby (he/him)
Chief Of Campaigns
Color Of Change


This email was sent to [email protected].

Color Of Change relies on donations from people like you, not corporations or lobbyists who don’t share our values. But if you’d like to remove yourself from our fundraising and special offer emails, you can opt out ([link removed]). If you wish to opt back in, send an email to [email protected].

If you're absolutely sure you don't want to hear from Color Of Change again, click here to unsubscribe:
[link removed]