John,
This week, the Senate failed to advance the For the People Act, the most progressive and expansive voting rights legislation since the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
We are not surprised. But John, this doesn't mean we should give up.
Republicans in the Senate used the Jim Crow filibuster to block the For the People Act in order to uphold white supremacy and advance a far-right agenda. But guess what? The For the People Act is exactly what it sounds like -- a bill for the people. And we will not stop until we pass legislation that protects our freedom to vote.
Sen. Reverend Raphael Warnock said it best:
In 2020, Black people showed up in record numbers in elections across the entire country -- electing leaders like Sen. Rev. Warnock to office. We've got to do the work for the countless elections happening this year and start preparing for the national elections in 2022, too.
If we don't work to pool all of our resources together to back more candidates dedicated to ending the filibuster and enacting radical Black policy, then we're going to keep running in circles, unable to pass any legislation to liberate us.
So John, it's on us. It's on us to organize and rally for the folks we know will show up for us at the local, state, and national levels. Will you chip in $5 or whatever you can to fuel our efforts toward electing candidates willing to do the work?
If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately:
Black voters showed up in 2020 to flip the White House and Senate. We changed this country's leadership because what we had wasn't working for us.
But a simple Senate majority isn't enough thanks to the Jim Crow filibuster that requires 60 votes (not a simple majority of 51) to get most legislation through.
We're going to keep fighting to end the filibuster -- which has been used for
decades to block legislation that would allow Black people to thrive.
And we are setting our eyes on 2022 and focusing on expanding the number of senators who support Black liberation and racial justice.
Not only that, but we need to elect more folks at the state and local level, where nearly 400 anti-voter bills have been introduced this year alone, who will stop these attacks at their source.
It's on all of us to work for the change we want to see in our legislative bodies that are supposed to represent the people and the people only.
Reparations, defunding the police, investments in the health and safety of Black people, and so much more are on the line. Chip in to fuel our people-powered PAC dedicated toward electing candidates who are showing up to do the work -- not the ones dedicated to keeping our voices silent.
In love and solidarity,
Black Lives Matter PAC
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