John,

With the national conversation divided by politics, #MayorsTaketheMic is an effort to elevate local voices by letting mayors on the front lines take over Mike's Instagram for the day.

Today, Mayor Melvin Carter from St. Paul, Minnesota, will be answering questions, sharing stories, and talking about how people across his community are lifting each other up at a time of unprecedented challenges. Mayor Carter is the 46th and first African-American mayor of St. Paul. You can follow along with him throughout the day on Mike's Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/mikebloomberg/

Mike wants to showcase leaders who are focused on solving problems and fighting for the future of their cities and towns. #MayorsTakeTheMic kicked off last month with Shreveport, Louisiana Mayor Adrian Perkins, and in the weeks ahead, Mike will be handing over his Instagram feed for a day to different leaders from across the country. We hope you'll continue to follow along, and help us share their stories:

https://www.instagram.com/mikebloomberg/

Thanks,

Bloomberg Philanthropies

P.S. -- St. Paul has actively innovated to support vulnerable residents and businesses in the wake of COVID-19. Check out this short video to see how they're doing what they've never done before -- not just to recover, but to reconstruct their community: https://youtu.be/OOg1kvBkycA