This week, friends, I've been reflecting on the huge strides that have been made for African Americans and women in this past century and how far we still have to go. 

One hundred years ago, the 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote. But there were still decades to go before women of color could exercise our constitutional right to vote – a right that was enshrined in law, in part, thanks to the hundreds of thousands of Americans who joined Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. in demanding an end to segregation, voter suppression and other discriminatory practices at the March on Washington in 1963, 57 years ago today.

This brave work paved the way for me, a descendant of slaves, to fight for the brighter America they could only dream of. I have faith not just in the Constitution – but also the brave women sitting with me in Congress who will continue to fight for justice.

Anniversaries like these remind us that what was consequential then is just as important now: We must protect every American's right to vote and
the life-changing civil rights that many fought so hard for over the past century. As my friend John Lewis said, “Freedom is the continuous action we all must take, and each generation must do its part to create an even more fair, more just society.”

But to do that, we can’t count on the current administration. We need to protect our Democratic House majority – the greatest safeguard of those inalienable rights promised to some at our nation's founding and hard-fought and won for others, for people like me, merely decades ago. 

Protecting that majority? It will come down to winning here in Florida, and I can't do that without your support. If you're in a position to make a donation, I would deeply appreciate it. 

Here's the best link to give:
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Thank you, 

Congresswoman Val Demings



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