Dear MoveOn member,

“We encourage everyone to go and register to vote. Now. Today. If you
truly believe that Black Lives Matter, then vote.” - WNBA statement,
August 26, 2020^1

The world hasn’t been the same since May 25, 2020 when
Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on the neck of an unarmed
George Floyd for nearly nine minutes, killing him. This came on the heels
of the deaths of Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Aubrey, two unarmed Black
people killed by the police and a former law enforcement official,
respectively. The Black Lives Matter movement began in 2013, after the
acquittal of George Zimmerman, who killed an unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon
Martin, and in the seven years since, has grown to a global movement that
seeks to fundamentally restructure race and justice, not only in the
U.S. but across the globe. Black Lives Matter has grown to be one of
the strongest, most effective social movements of all time, winning the
support of elected officials, entertainers, academics, sports icons, and
people of all races. 

This week, we commemorate the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington
for Jobs and Freedom. We’ve come so far since 1963, even electing our
first Black president (who accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination on
the 45th anniversary of the March on Washington), but events over the past
seven years, and especially in 2020, have made many of us realize that we
still have so far to go. With COVID-19 disproportionately impacting Black
and brown communities, massive evictions looming, and a racial uprising,
it’s easy to believe things might not be much better than they were in
1963. But we can’t give up hope. 

We’re seeing people rise up and take to the streets, the internet, and
risk their jobs all in the name of Black freedom and justice. Just this
week, we’ve seen players in the WNBA, NBA, and in MLB use their influence
to strike and postpone playoff games in order to bring attention and
awareness to the unjust murders and shootings of Black people by agents of
the state. Four years ago, Colin Kaepernick began his peaceful
protest, and it ended up costing him his job. Many other everyday,
non-sports icons have risked their livelihoods and their physical and
mental health in the struggle for Black liberation, and we cannot allow
those sacrifices to have been made in vain. 

This November, we are facing the most important election of our
lifetimes. There is too much at risk to sit at home and not make our
voices heard at the ballot box. Art is a powerful tool. Which is why
MoveOn has partnered with Amplifier Art and cutting-edge artists to
inspire young voters, people of color, and first-time voters to make their
voices heard by voting.

[ [link removed] ]Join the Your Vote Is Power campaign by getting the new free sticker,
designed by artist Thomas Wimberly, now. Just click here or on the image
below!

[ [link removed] ][IMG]

As the 2020 primary elections have shown us, voter suppression is still
very much alive and well. Add a global pandemic on top, and you’ve got the
makings of a disaster for democracy. This election is about more than
keeping incumbents in office or replacing them with new people; it’s about
voting our values. We’re going to the polls to say that Black lives
matter, love is love, and health care is a human right.

As Martin Luther King Jr. said in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech at
the March on Washington:^2 

“We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the
unspeakable horrors of police brutality…. We cannot be satisfied as long
as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he
has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied and we will
not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness
like a mighty stream.”

[ [link removed] ]Click here to get the new free “Be the Vote” sticker.

Thanks for all you do.

–Mary, Evelyn, Avery, Michael, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "WNBA players join Bucks in protest; Wednesday games postponed in
aftermath of Jacob Blake shooting in Kenosha," CBS Sports, August 26, 2020
[link removed]

2. "'I Have a Dream,' Address Delivered at the March on Washington for
Jobs and Freedom," The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education
Institute at Stanford University, accessed August 26, 2020
[link removed]


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