“Ours is not the struggle of one day, one week, or one year. Ours is not the
struggle of one judicial appointment or presidential term. Ours is the struggle
of a lifetime, or maybe even many lifetimes, and each one of us in every
generation must do our part.” - John Lewis, Civil Rights Activist and Former
Congressman (D-GA)

Friend,

Each February, Black History Month provides an opportunity to recognize and
honor the contributions of the African Diaspora in the United States. It also
serves as a call to action for each of us to take part in the ongoing struggle
for racial justice in this country.

In that spirit, we are spotlighting three organizations doing critical work to
advance the rights and wellbeing of Black communities across the country. In honor of Black History Month, we invite you to join us in supporting their
work.

Supporting health equity: As of 2020, the maternal mortality rate in the U.S. was more than three times
the rate of most other high-income countries. Black women, facing compounding
factors of systemic racism, bias in healthcare, and coverage gaps, experience
worse reproductive, prenatal, and postpartum health outcomes than any other
racial or ethnic group. The National Birth Equity Collaborative is one of the nation’s leading
organizations advocating for change in the Black maternal health and infancy
mortality crises.

Fighting for the truth in schools: Following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, which sparked sweeping racial
justice protests across the country, states began passing laws to restrict or
ban the accurate teaching of American history, including its history of systemic
racism. This is a dangerous and calculated attempt to erase the lived
experiences of Black communities and other communities of color in the U.S. The NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is challenging these attacks on several
fronts, including filing a lawsuit to stop Florida Govenor Ron DeSantis’ law
that restricts educators and students from learning about issues of race and
gender in the classroom.

Building community power: In 2020, Black Americans turned out in historic numbers to vote, playing a
critical role in preventing four more years of Trump and helping Democrats
secure a Senate majority. They did so despite efforts to suppress voting rights,
with tactics that have been proven to disproportionately impact communities of
color and people of low-income. One of the organizations that helped strengthen
turnout again in 2022 was Black Voters Matter (BVM). BVM works to build power in
marginalized, predominantly Black communities through voter registration,
turnout, and policy advocacy. BVM is also investing in long-term community power, which includes increasing
representation in Congress and advocating for lawmakers to act on critical
issues like police accountability, voting rights, and criminal legal system
reforms.

SUPPORT THE WORK OF NATIONAL BIRTH EQUITY COLLABORATIVE, THE NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE
FUND, AND BLACK VOTERS MATTER
[[link removed]]The work of building a more just society, one in which our laws, policies, and
systems recognize the dignity and humanity of all people, will require the
participation of each of us across lines of race, wealth, gender, and
immigration status.

Thank you for joining us in celebrating Black History Month.

Sincerely,

Sara K. Gould
Interim Executive Director
National Immigration Law Center

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