Dear Friends, 

The whole team at The Opportunity Agenda offers our congratulations to President-Elect Biden and Vice-President Elect Harris. This unprecedented and historic vote count, taken with the election of the first-ever Black, S.E. Asian woman to the second-highest office in the land, is cause for great celebration. With more than 140 million votes counted, people of all backgrounds came together to vote for change, to make history, and to finally say with resounding authority, ‘Enough.’ 

As the returns are analyzed and the snapshot of the electorate is further understood, The Opportunity Agenda recognizes with gratitude and great respect that particular constituencies – whether Latinx and Indigeneous peoples in the Southwest, or African Americans nationwide – ensured that their voices were heard and that the importance of the vote was matched only by their energy to participate in exceptional numbers. 

The 2020 elections mark an extraordinary example of how organized people raising their voices can lead us to reimagine a future in which we can all live with dignity and in safety, no matter our zip code or identity. Examples set by the truth-tellers of the movement for Black lives and the organizers to Abolish ICE, the young leaders demanding politicians stop killing our planet or saturating our streets with guns, the women who march for equality and the people everywhere who know how much better our healthcare and economy must be, have led us here. These are the leaders who refuse to normalize Donald Trump and his administration, and these are the leaders who are already reimagining a more inclusive and respectful future for everyone. 

The Opportunity Agenda team is proud to be associated with these leaders and to provide support to them as they uplift their stories, their strategies, and their voices toward achieving change.

We can take a deep breath and celebrate as we prepare to embark on the next step in our march toward systemic justice. 2020 has again and again laid bare the deep structural challenges in our country and in our democracy. In the face of such hurdles, we must focus on our aspirations and our strengths. The election results show that our voices are unstoppable, that our communities thrive when we are unified, that we must require safety for everyone, and that all people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. 

Today we celebrate. Tomorrow, we continue the fight to make sure those values are truly and boldly reflected in the story and the society we live in, for everyone. 

With gratitude, 

Ellen and the entire team