John, today our country recognizes the day that civil rights activists led by a 25-year-old John Lewis crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.

A bridge named after a Confederate officer, United States Senator, and Ku Klux Klan leader. On the other side of that bridge awaited officers of the state, who brutally attacked these nonviolent protesters on a day in 1965 we now call Bloody Sunday.

“We don’t honor our history by talking about it, we honor it by fighting for the country we want to build — through activism, through speaking out, through exercising our power at the ballot box.”

That’s what I said in Selma back in 2019, when I visited to commemorate the 54th anniversary of Bloody Sunday.

Being on the frontlines of justice is no easy task. It takes courage, empathy, and love to make a change, and we are forever indebted to the sacrifices those before us have made to get us where we are now.

Today, I’m thinking about the late John Lewis, who dedicated his life and career to the civil rights movement. It was through his and many others’ tireless efforts and struggles that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 became law.

What we’ve seen unfold in recent years — restrictions on mail-in voting, voter registration, and unfair, unequal voting environments — is yet another attempt to silence our voices and push us down.

Violence, intimidation, and red tape are all methods that have been, and continue to be obstacles to progress.

But just as I said back in Selma, we must honor our history, and those who fought before us, by continuing their courageous activism.

That’s why I’m using my power in the Senate to push for voting rights protections, anti-discrimination laws, and advocate that this history be taught in our schools.

And I hope you will join me, arm-in-arm, as we keep marching forward.

With love and gratitude,

Cory