| Dear Friend, Newly elected Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass drew more voters than any other mayoral candidate in L.A. history.(1) It’s a true progressive success story, except for one point: Despite being nearly half the city’s population, Latinx voters comprised only 23% of the votes.(2) California is one of the most diverse states in the country, where no one race holds a majority. However, the leadership of the Democratic Party and large progressive organizations is still overwhelmingly white. Courage California is an exception, and we are making strides in the Latinx community. We are a BIPOC-led organization that knows the future of progressive politics depends on reaching out to, listening to, and including communities of color year-round, not just during an election year. We spent 2022 polling heavily Latinx communities and partnering with BIPOC community groups to make change, and in 2023, we are going to build on that work to grow the California progressive movement as a whole to reflect the state itself.</strong
A full 40% of California is Latinx, 15% are Asian American, and 5% are Black.(3) The political establishment has been ignoring those groups at our peril. Across the country, Latinx voters trended toward the Republican Party. And while analysts disagree how strongly that trend is showing up in California(4), here’s what we do know: These communities are not a monolith. We can’t take them for granted. And a history of excluding them breeds distrust and a lack of participation.(5) More important, the progressive community as a whole is stronger when more people participate and more voices are included. Courage California understands this. Three of our four directors are women of color. We are from the BIPOC communities of California. We are working every day to support the labor unions, health-care advocates, and environmental champions at the forefront of BIPOC issues, and we champion BIPOC candidates who will make the legislature more representative. In 2023, we have ambitious goals to engage the Latinx community year-round and grow the number of progressive voters in the state, to pass bold legislation to address challenges plaguing families, and to stop the corporate abuses of power that hurts entire generations of working Americans. Our budget is entirely dependent on what we are able to raise in the next days and weeks, so we’ve set a goal of $10,000 by the end of Giving Tuesday to give us a strong start. Donate now to support a progressive movement that looks more like California!
Thanks for your critical support. –Irene, along with Angela, Annie, Isidra, Lindsay, LisaMarie, Mai, Mai, Raquel, and Scottie (the Courage team) PS: Courage California is fighting for equity and justice across the state and country. Will you become a monthly donor and help sustain our work? Donations go to support all of Courage California's work for a more progressive California and country. Follow us now on Facebook or Twitter! Footnote:  |
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