Hakeem Jeffries for the People [[link removed]]
Hi John xxxxxx —

Today is Martin Luthing King Jr. Day, a time we set aside to honor Dr. King’s fight for civil rights and work to eradicate poverty in the United States. I ran for public office to advocate for the poor and fight for liberty and justice for all, so I cherish this day as a time for reflection and service to my community.

Dr. King peacefully but boldly took on the challenges stemming from decades of oppression, and worked tirelessly for racial justice in all facets of society: voting rights, economic equality and opportunity, affordable housing, public education, our criminal justice system and so much more.

Though we have made great strides since Dr. King spoke of his dream — a nation free of injustice, where all are truly created and treated equal — events over the course of the last few years have proven that we still have a long way to go.

Look at the Black Lives Matter movement over the summer of 2020. George Floyd’s name was added to the long, ever-growing list of Black Americans killed by police — and the people said “enough.” Millions of Americans marched in the streets, held moving vigils, and raised their voices to say Black Lives Matter. They demanded justice be served, that those responsible be held accountable, and that reforms be made to our criminal justice system so that we stop this deadly epidemic of police brutality as well as decades of mass incarceration that have devastated our communities.

Look at the continued efforts of Republicans to suppress the vote, especially in predominantly Black cities and states where they made wild, inaccurate claims of “voter fraud” in the presidential election. Trump allies in Congress supported lawsuits and other efforts to throw out the legal votes of Black Americans in cities like Philadelphia and Atlanta, undermining our free and fair elections. We continue to see bogus attempts to keep people from the polls, like voter ID laws, the shutting down of polling places and thousands of voter registrations being purged ahead of elections.

Look at the disproportionate impact that the COVID-19 pandemic is having as we speak on Black and brown communities, who are facing higher rates of infections, hospitalizations and deaths, as well as economic harm such as unemployment.

And look at what happened at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th 2021: a violent mob of mostly white Trump supporters, many openly belonging to white supremacist hate groups, freely stormed and desecrated the Capitol and walked away unharmed. It was a stark contrast to the massive, forceful police response to peaceful protestors calling for racial justice in cities all over the country.

Things feel dark right now. No doubt. But no matter how dark and discouraging things were, Dr. King let hope and faith lead the way. He dared to imagine a better future, and fought for it. And that’s what we must do now.

On this MLK Day, let’s keep up the fight to reform our criminal justice system by banning dangerous no-knock warrants and chokeholds, stopping racial profiling, holding police accountable for brutality, decriminalizing marijuana and ending mass incarceration.

Let’s keep up the fight to strengthen voting rights by passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act so we can stomp out voter suppression once and for all.

Let’s keep up the fight for economic justice by raising the minimum wage, creating more jobs, providing high quality public education, affordable housing and healthcare for all.

Let’s keep up the fight against poverty in our communities by committing acts of service, no matter how small or large, to lend a helping hand to our neighbors in need.

And most importantly, let’s keep the faith.

— Hakeem
Jeffries for Congress
910 17th St. Suite 925
Washington, DC 20006
United States
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