Dear Friend,

It is with heavy hearts that we share this moment of reflection and loss with our labor and movement community. Elizabeth Davis was a powerful president of the Washington Teachers Union, a dedicated educator and education activist, and committed member of social movements. She was a Black woman who broke barriers and demanded a seat at the table.

Liz was invested in DC JWJ as an organization and in our staff. Today, in our staff meeting, each one of us spoke about how Liz impacted us - from her powerful presence, to her belief in the leadership of those in younger generations, to her dedication to all workers and all children. Sequnely shared that she was a direct beneficiary of Liz's advocacy years ago to invest in better STEM education - before it was cool.

Image: President Davis rallying to stop the privatization and union busting of United Medical Center

We have noticed an outpouring of sadness across our DC community. We realized she touched many more lives than we imagined. We would like to share a few of those reflections from DC JWJ member organizations. Please see the messages from WTU, Washington Metro Council, and Mysiki Valentine - Executive Director of MLOV. We know there are many more, please continue to share your memories.

We are sending so much love to Liz's family, the WTU staff and members, DC's labor community, and all the lives she touched.

This has been a year heavy with loss, and we hope all of you are taking time to care for yourselves, share love with the people in your lives, and honors those we have lost.

In solidarity and sadness,

Eliana, Elizabeth, Ina, Nikko, and Sequnely

President Davis with WTU members and staff of Cesar Chavez schools, fighting for fairness for charter school educators.