They tried to bury us, but they did not know we were seeds.
– Mexican Proverb
We are devastated, pained, and furious by the misogyny, racism, and xenophobia that marked the 2024 Presidential campaign and guided the outcome at the polls. On a day we hoped for broken barriers, we have broken hearts. We fear for our community and our loved ones.
We stand strong knowing that Election Day is not the end. It is our beginning. It is our call to action. We must move forward clear-headed, organized, and relentless. We know the attacks detailed in Project 2025, a far right wing Heritage Foundation manifesto, are coming. We know that civil and human rights, abortion, privacy, transgender rights are at risk and that mass deportation and classroom censorship is planned, because they told us.
Project 2025 is Donald Trump’s marching orders. What are ours?
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Women and people across genders want an equal opportunity to be educated, advance at work, and support their families. We want affordable, quality childcare and healthcare, including abortions. For our transgender children, we want safety from the mobs, assaults, and vitriol. We expect the Courts, Congress, and state legislatures to be a check on the power of those misogynists attacking the healthcare of women, right-wing lawyers dismantling federal agencies that are critical to protecting our rights, and autocrats who are eager to use military force to even a score against the so-called “enemy from within.”
The policies we care about and important checks in a democracy did not lose on Election Day. Our shared needs and values remain intact, ready for action.
Each and every one of us, reaching out to likely and unlikely allies and listening to the pain and hope that led to Election Day 2024, must commit and recommit to our movement. It will require deep engagement in Congress without the support of government agencies. It will require pushing progressive reforms in the states both legislatively and through executive action with like-minded Governors. And it will require litigation in state and federal courts to defend longstanding rights and stop unlawful repression in our communities.
With your help, we can do this. Between now and when that man steps into the Oval Office again, we are raising $2 million dollars in rapid response funds. We intend to boost state policy work, guard our federal agencies, support litigation against unlawful executive action, and intensify our direct advocacy for communities under threat. We are growing the ERA team and strengthening our coalitions across the nation.
The path to justice has never been straight or easy. But Equal Rights Advocates was built for moments like this. Thanks to our incredible team and with dedicated partners, we have a 50-year strong track record of building power, breaking barriers, and driving change. We have a plan, we are raising the money needed, and we are ready. Thank you for standing with us and with our communities, who are giving us OUR marching orders right now. Together, we will continue fighting until the promise of equality becomes a reality for all.