Team, I want to tell you the context behind this photo. But first, we should start at the beginning.

My story begins and ends in Los Angeles. I was raised with three brothers in the Venice/Fairfax area of L.A. I grew up watching the Civil Rights Movement on television with my father, and I remember a world without Roe v. Wade.

I was only 20 years old when the Supreme Court protected a woman's right to choose. Before 1973, women had to travel hundreds and thousands of miles to seek reproductive health care in other countries. Often, women didn't have the time or the financial stability to travel so far for care. Countless women lost their lives. More women experienced the emotional and physical trauma from unregulated abortions or carrying an unwanted pregnancy to term.

I saw Americans risk everything for equality and witnessed true community activism drive change. Activists fought for the end of segregation and won. They fought for safe and legal abortion access and won. These victories sparked my lifelong commitment to fighting for social and economic justice.

When this photo was taken, our city was in the grips of crack cocaine and gang violence. I knew that addressing it would require empowering our community across generations, ethnicities, cultures, and neighborhoods. That vision led me to found the Community Coalition in 1990 to tackle substance use, poverty, and crime in South Los Angeles.

I graduated from Hamilton High School, Cal State Dominguez Hills, and the University of Southern California. I've been a nurse, Physician Assistant, and clinical instructor at USC. My drive to heal our bleeding city never left me.

That commitment led me to serve as the first Black woman Speaker in the California State House during California’s greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression. I knew my city — and the state — was home to families who were struggling. It's why I championed legislation to make healthcare more accessible and affordable for Californians, fought to improve California’s child welfare system, and fast-tracked federal economic stimulus.

No matter where I went, I knew I wanted to be a part of the solution. That drive led me to serve as a U.S. Congresswoman, where I helped pass the Women's Health Protection Act through the House. Now, I'm running to be Los Angeles' next mayor.

Today, I look at the city I love as it faces once-in-a-generation crises, and I ask myself: "How can I not do everything I can to help?" Los Angeles has called me home, and I am ready to serve.

Team, it doesn't matter where you live, you deserve a mayor who will show up and work for you every single day. Someone who will advocate for working people, address structural inequality, and tackle systemic racism. Someone who will use every single lever of power to ensure that Los Angeles is a safe haven for reproductive freedom.

There are no simple answers, but together, we can get the job done.

Please join EMILY's List, Dolores Huerta, Rep. Katie Porter, and grassroots supporters across the city to show your support for our campaign as we work to create a pathway to progress for every single Angeleno.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for all you do,

Karen