Team,

Earlier this week, my friend Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was walking out of the Capitol after voting on behalf of her constituents when a GOP congressman ambushed her and called her a “fucking bitch” who is “out of her freaking mind.”

This week, AOC, me and other women took to the floor to talk about how this verbal abuse is all too familiar for many women, particularly women of color — from bars to sidewalks to the halls of Congress. When I was a new member of Congress, a Republican colleague smeared me on the floor of the house as a “young lady” who didn’t “know a damn thing.” I stood up to him and insisted on — and got — an apology on the floor of the House.

Another GOP colleague told me to “learn how to read.”

I want to be clear that violent, sexist and diminishing language is about power. It is about exerting power, about wielding power over people, and about fear of women who are smarter, harder working, and more dedicated to achieving justice. It is about disrespecting women when you have no other tools to do so.

But these words also say something about who is in the United States Congress. What this governing body looks like. Of the more than 11,500 people who have ever served in Congress, only 79 have been women of color.

Well, I’ve got news for all those small men out there who insist on continuing their sexist behavior. We women are not going away. There are going to be more of us here. There is going to be more power in the hands of women across this country. And we are going to continue to speak up and have a voice for people across America.

That’s why it is so crucial that my voice remains in Congress so I can continue to fight for the voices of people like me, who the status quo has left behind for so long. Will you make your first contribution to my reelection campaign to help make sure I defeat my four challengers so I can keep building a bold, progressive coalition to create real, transformative change?

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Progressive policies like Medicare for All, free college, and humane immigration reform disproportionately impact women and people of color — so it’s sadly no surprise that an overwhelmingly white, an overwhelmingly male Congress often ignores or dismisses these policies — and the people who push for them — as “impractical” or “unrealistic.”

But as you know, these issues aren’t just pet projects to us — they are life-or-death. So I’m counting on you to make sure I can keep fighting in Congress to make these bold, transformative, progressive policies become a reality.

Chip in $5 or whatever you can right now so that I can defeat my four challengers and keep working to disrupt the status quo.

Thank you for being part of our people-first campaign.

In solidarity,

Pramila Jayapal