This young man will lift us up
To An
Dear MoveOn member,
We're facing difficult times in America today. Hate on the rise. White supremacists marching openly in the streets. Bomb threats. And yesterday, gun violence in a place of worship.
But I've known difficult times before. I remember the "Whites Only" signs that hung above drinking fountains when I was a child. I remember when Black people risked their lives by trying to register to vote.
The civil rights movement lifted America from those particular policies of racist hate, but I am afraid that the hatred has never truly gone away.
Because right now, in Florida, Andrew Gillum, the progressive, trailblazing Tallahassee mayor who is in a close race to become Florida's first Black governor, is facing outrageous racist attacks during the final stretch of his campaign.
The people of Florida deserve the kind of governor that Andrew will be. He will lift up the people of Florida—and all of us in America—white, Black and brown. He is a powerful voice for Medicare for All, strong gun safety laws, LGBTQ equality, immigrant rights, and creating opportunities for all, not just a privileged few.1 Andrew is standing against the politics of hate to be a governor of all people.
I'm campaigning with Andrew all over Florida, and I'm asking you to help bring it home with a donation to Andrew's campaign. Are you with me?
I, along with countless others, sacrificed a lot for others to have the right to vote. I was jailed and beaten, even left bloody and unconscious. But what I suffered pales in comparison to our foremothers and forefathers who gave their lives.
Today, we cannot fail to exercise those rights that were paid for in blood and sacrifice.
Now, some people in America would like us to return to the days of rampant segregation and voter suppression. We're seeing Black people purged from the voter rolls and blocked from voting with racist voter ID laws and government officials complicit in acts of suppression. The Supreme Court has gutted key parts of the Voting Rights Act that we were marching for that day in Selma on the Edmund Pettus Bridge and throughout the entire civil rights movement.
One of the people who wants to take us back is Andrew Gillum's opponent for governor. He said Andrew would "monkey up" the state if he was elected.2 He accepted a donation from a man who called President Obama a "Muslim N-word."3 He is campaigning at neo-Nazi rallies, and his supporters are running racist and anti-Semitic robocalls.4,5
Andrew represents the polar opposite of all that hatred. He would be the first African-American elected governor of Florida, and he is running to represent all of the people of Florida and supporting policies that will help all Floridians thrive.
America is facing difficult times today, but we've faced harder times and come out stronger. We can do it again, and Andrew is the leader who will get us there. Will you help Andrew bring it home by making a donation to his campaign today?
Thanks for being in this fight.
–Congressman John Lewis of Georgia
Sources:
1. "Issues," Andrew Gillum for Governor, accessed October 26, 2018
https://act.moveon.org/go/50033?t=4&akid=219409%2E38417624%2E1qIYz6
https://act.moveon.org/go/50033?t=4&akid=219409%2E38417624%2E1qIYz6
2. "DeSantis Warns Florida Not to 'Monkey This Up,' and Many Hear a Racist Dog Whistle," The New York Times,August 29, 2018
https://act.moveon.org/go/49071?t=6&akid=219409%2E38417624%2E1qIYz6
https://act.moveon.org/go/49071?t=6&akid=219409%2E38417624%2E1qIYz6
3. "GOP Gov. Nominee Ron DeSantis Not Returning Cash to Donor Who Called Former Pres. Obama N-word," NBC Miami, September 21, 2018
https://act.moveon.org/go/55204?t=8&akid=219409%2E38417624%2E1qIYz6
https://act.moveon.org/go/55204?t=8&akid=219409%2E38417624%2E1qIYz6
4. "Republican gubernatorial nominee's aide and 'dear friend' was also part of Florida Proud Boys rally," Think Progress, October 23, 2018
https://act.moveon.org/go/55205?t=10&akid=219409%2E38417624%2E1qIYz6
https://act.moveon.org/go/55205?t=10&akid=219409%2E38417624%2E1qIYz6
5. "White supremacist group targets Florida's Andrew Gillum in new racist robocall," The Washington Post, October 23, 2018
https://act.moveon.org/go/55207?t=12&akid=219409%2E38417624%2E1qIYz6
https://act.moveon.org/go/55207?t=12&akid=219409%2E38417624%2E1qIYz6
PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Paid Pol. Adv. paid for by MoveOn.org Political Action, PO Box 96142, Washington, DC 20090, independently of any Florida candidate. Not authorized or approved by any federal, state, or local candidate or candidate's committee. Federal candidates or officeholders mentioned above are not asking for more than $5,000 per calendar year from individuals or other federally permissible sources, nor are they asking for any funds from corporations, labor unions, or any other federally prohibited sources.
This email was sent to Alfred Johnson on October 28, 2018. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.
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