John,

It’s Black History Month! This month, and every month, Emerge celebrates and uplifts Black women leaders who have helped to build our movement for a more inclusive and responsive democracy. We are committed to equity and justice and ensuring that Black women who want to run for office have the tools they need to succeed.

The swearing in of Vice President Kamala Harris is a milestone for how far we’ve come. But make no mistake — this fight is not over.

We know that there are so many more Black women who are paving the way, whose stories we may not know.

John, we’d love to hear: who are the Black leaders in your community that you’d like to lift up and honor?

Last year we saw our Black alums blaze trails in communities across the country, and we’re doing everything we can to support and lift up Black women in positions of power.

We’re celebrating alums like Martesha Johnson, who is the first Black woman to serve as the Nashville Metropolitan Chief Public Defender, and Kentucky State Representative Attica Scott who’s been front and center on police reforms in her community, and Lateefah Simon who serves her community as a member of the Bay Area Rapid Transit Board of Directors.

In 2020 we saw Black women power key victories at every level, and we have to do more than thank Black women for their contributions to democracy — we must elect more of them.

Thank you for joining us in that mission, Team Emerge