Team — have you heard about Brooklyn?

Not the one that’s home to the Nets in New York, but Brooklyn, Illinois, “America’s First Black Town.” Brooklyn was a key outpost on the Underground Railroad and became a beacon in the north for those escaping slavery and the Jim Crow South.

Surrounded by factories that employed the community, the early days of Brooklyn were that of a vibrant Black town that thrived in the height of segregation. Brooklyn natives talk of their hometown with pride — grocery stores, dry cleaners, and service stations were among the many small businesses that kept people in Brooklyn employed.

But as corporate giants expanded, it began to gobble up portions of this thriving town, and now, decades later, it’s at risk of fading away.

To preserve this history and support the hard-working people in Brooklyn, I’m fighting for more than $2 million in federal funds to build a thriving community center, but I can’t win this fight alone.

We’re facing an administration that is on a mission to divide us and erase the diverse history that is intertwined within the story of the American experiment, and that’s why I’m working tirelessly to secure critical federal funds to support towns across the 13th District like Brooklyn.

So I have to ask, team — do I have your support in this work? Sign on today:

I won’t stand by silently as Donald Trump, JD Vance, and the most extreme members of the right-wing work to dismantle our government and erase American history.

Thanks for your support today. 

— Nikki