John,
Tomorrow is Juneteenth, a holiday which commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S. If you have not heard of Juneteenth, you are not alone. While most Americans look at July 4th as their day of independence, Juneteenth is the day when enslaved people in Texas were told they were free… two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.
Although slavery in the U.S. may have ended centuries ago, its legacy and consequences remain today.
The last few weeks (and the continuing pandemic) have shined a harsh light on the glaring inequities that still exist, particularly for Black and brown people.
Right now, we are all coming to terms with what that means and doing the work to combat structural racism and rooting out white supremacy from our institutions. And while a whole lot of energy is directed at replacing our current racist president, we also need to work to make our communities safer by electing more Black people to state and local office.
Today, we are asking you to commit to support a Black candidate running for local office in 2020. Your contribution will be split between 47 candidates running in states across the country and Run for Something.
Chip in now -- every cent goes directly to their campaigns and to efforts to recruit more folks like them >>
Let’s be clear: Participating in
local politics is part of living an anti-racist life. From terminating police contracts with public schools to pushing for the reallocation of police funding to social programs, this is the invisible, yet necessary work.
The most recent data from the National Conference of State Legislatures (2015) showed over
80% of state legislators were white, despite only 60% of Americans identifying as white. When our leaders do not reflect the diversity of our communities, we cannot begin to reconcile the pain and injustice imposed on people of color by our government.
We can create an equitable nation where Black Lives Matter. And we get there by electing young, diverse, progressives to every electable seat.
Thank you, and stay safe,
Run for Something
