John, 

Today, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment - the amendment that gave women the right to vote. And 2020 - a year of unprecedented challenges, violence, and protest - is a poignant year to remember the suffragists’ triumph and also the violence and racism that plagued their movement. 

We can find inspiration from the suffragists’ fight, but our celebration of the 19th amendment must account for the flawed history that preceded it and followed it. That’s why we must stand, unwavering, alongside the Black Lives Matter movement and keep up the fight for civil rights. We must give voters something to believe in; my own mother never believed her vote mattered until Bernie Sanders, and her vote for him was the first she ever cast.

Are we honoring the suffragists when voters feel so disenfranchised? Are we honoring their sacrifices when career politicians like Shelley Moore Capito can sell their votes and pass legislation designed to favor profits, not people? Mary Church Terrell and Elizabeth Cady Stanton would take one look at our system and say we failed them. And they’d be right. 

This is the year we rise up, TOGETHER, and say THIS IS OUR TIME.

There’s cause for hope. Our primary victory here in West Virginia - which has a long history of supporting women in general elections - is proof Americans are ready for change. We must seize this historic moment.

When people stand up for what’s right, it can look, in hindsight, like they were destined to win. But in reality, there’s no guarantee we’ll win unless we unite. 

Can we count on you to stand with us?

Paula Jean