Friends,

From George Floyd’s murder two months ago to the senseless shooting of Jacob Blake this week, our country has been awakened to horrors and reality of state violence against Black and Brown Americans. On the television and at dining room tables across the country, America’s crisis of systemic racism has become a central issue of conversation before the November election.

A majority of voters now agree that American society is racist and nearly two-thirds disapprove of Trump’s handling of race relations. But these numbers overlook a critical point:

Defeating Trump won’t address some of the most powerful drivers of structural racism in America. As the National Political Director for Forward Majority, I know we can only attack systemic racism at the root by looking to the foundation of our government: state legislatures.

Failure to break GOP control in key state houses will result in levels of gerrymandering and voter suppression not yet seen in the modern era. Already Black and Brown Americans have seen their voices and votes depleted by this distortion of our democracy. As I wrote last week in The Hill, four states have been among the worst actors when it comes to voter suppression and gerrymandering:

• Texas: Closed the most polling locations of any state in the South—shuttering 750 polls since 2012 and limiting access to the ballot box despite growing populations.

• Florida: Republican legislators imposed a new modern day poll tax on ex-felons despite a popularly passed ballot initiative to restore their voting rights.

• Arizona: The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last January that GOP state officials used voting regulations to stop Native American, Latino, and Black voters from casting ballots.

• North Carolina: GOP legislators have leveraged partisan gerrymandering to draw racially gerrymandered districts with now a green light from the Supreme Court.

While these states show the most egregious examples of voter suppression and discrimination, they also have another thing in common: favorable demographic trends for Democrats in key state legislative races.

By reclaiming and restoring our democracy, we can propel meaningful legislation to stop police violence and start fixing our broken justice system. This is the year voters can begin to right the course of our democracy and empower Black and Brown voters nationwide.

Grateful to be in this fight with you,