Today, we mark Juneteenth, Jason.
It’s a day to honor liberation, to remember the Black Americans who fought for their own freedom, and to celebrate the profound joy of a community that survived the unimaginable.
The official end of slavery in 1865 is worth celebrating. But we can’t pretend that racism, discrimination, and disenfranchisement only happened in history books.
Right now, we are witnessing a sustained assault on the rights of Black Americans. Look at what just happened to the Voting Rights Act. For 60 years, Section 2 was one of our last lines of defense against politicians trying to take away Black representation. Then, six conservative justices decided that defense didn't matter anymore.
Because of that decision, states are now drawing maps explicitly designed to split up communities, erase majority-Black districts, and silence voters. And this isn’t just about Congress. It’s going to impact state legislatures, city councils, and school boards across the country — the exact places where Black communities have fought the hardest to see themselves represented.
One piece of our mission at Leaders We Deserve is removing the barriers that have tried to keep young Black leaders from holding power. Our election system has always favored those who are older, wealthy, and white. But real change happens when the people with diverse lived experience are the ones writing the laws.
That’s why Leaders We Deserve candidates like Justin J. Pearson, Christian Menefee, Donavan McKinney, Dinah Escarment, and Tyler Smith aren't backing down. They didn’t wait for permission to show up for their communities, and they go even harder when the system is stacked against them.
Juneteenth is a reminder of where we’ve been, how far we’ve come, and how hard we still need to fight for equality, justice, and representation for everyone.
I deeply appreciate your support as we continue doing this important work.
In solidarity,
David Hogg
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