But we can’t forget the day began in victory
Wednesday morning began in joy and celebration. A years-long fight against voter suppression in Georgia came to fruition with the elections of Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff to the U.S. Senate. It was a victory for democracy.

Then we watched as President Trump incited an angry mob to launch a violent, white supremacist insurrection on the U.S. Capitol. Underpinning the attack was the stark difference in how police treated armed terrorists storming the seat of our democracy compared with the brutal treatment of peaceful protesters demonstrating against the murder of Black people.

We watched our country on a split-screen. There was an assault on democracy even as our movement was given historic reasons to celebrate:
  • In less than two weeks, President-elect Joe Biden, along with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, will be inaugurated.
  • Senator-elect Rev. Raphael Warnock will make history as the first Black senator from Georgia and the 11th Black senator in the chamber's history.
  • Jon Ossoff will become the first Jewish U.S. Senator from Georgia.
  • And with them in power, we've secured a majority in Congress who will advocate for sexual and reproductive fights and fundamentally altered the political landscape for President-elect Biden's administration.

The news this week has been horrifying. But let us not be discouraged, because we fought and won the change we need. We are rightly tired, but we must stay engaged in the fight.

We won the Senate and that's a credit to all those who've fought voter suppression for years, even decades; to those who organized, donated, and volunteered; to those who stood in long lines and stayed vigilant through a very, very long election season; to Black voters, without whom this victory wouldn't be possible.

In this moment, when our democracy is under attack, we cannot go back to business as usual. We must take bold, immediate steps to ensure this week's failed coup can never happen again.

You'll be hearing from us soon with actions you can take to join Planned Parenthood Action Fund in protecting our democracy and with it fighting for our reproductive freedom.
Remember to take care of each other,
Alexis McGill Johnson, President
Planned Parenthood Action Fund