Dear friends — 

This year has been an unprecedented challenge for our communities. In the face of a global pandemic, gun violence has reached historic highs across the country, and communities of color have been hit the hardest. 

At CJAF, we believe in calling gun violence in this country what it is: a public health epidemic. We believe in investing in communities hardest hit by gun violence, not criminalizing them. And most of all, we believe that by listening to and learning from the voices and needs of those most affected by gun violence, we can move beyond conventional approaches and focus on solutions that effectively tackle the root causes of that violence.

We know that the path to achieving justice for people of color killed by gun violence takes longer than a new cycle. This #GivingTuesday we are asking you to support our work to build power in communities of color to end gun violence. 

What your #GivingTuesday donation will support:  

• Through our Elect Justice campaign, we led successful electoral efforts in Texas and Wisconsin we reached out to over 1.6 million voters in communities most impacted by gun violence. With your support, we will continue to build and mobilize our online volunteer army of over 1000 to engage voters on critical issues for communities of color. 
• Through our This is Our Ground campaign, we will continue to lead efforts to dismantle so-called "stand your ground" laws in states across the country that encourage escalation of violence, disproportionally in communities of color. 

• Through our work with the Speakers Bureau we will continue to train survivors and community leaders in telling their own stories in a thoughtful and meaningful way, and uplift the voices of people across the country who are working on the many issues that intersect with gun violence prevention.

• Through our work with Policy Makers for Peace, we will continue to grow a national nonpartisan network of state and local elected officials of color coming together to change the conversation on gun violence prevention by leading with the people closest to the pain of everyday gun violence. 

We have an ambitious month ahead of us to close out 2020, and even more we want to accomplish in 2021. We need your support more than ever.

Will you invest in our efforts to end gun violence this #GivingTuesday?

Thank you all for being our partners in this fight. 

In solidarity,

Greg Jackson 

National Advocacy Director