This year’s midterm elections are an important opportunity on many fronts: election years are tipping points for authoritarian regimes. Working-class champions have historic support across the country. And we can use this momentum to strengthen our movements for the long haul, especially by flanking Black political power.
And white people have a crucial role to play in organizing our own!
Join SURJ next week on Wednesday, September 9 at 8 pm ET / 5 pm PT at our webinar, “From Minneapolis to Memphis to Mississippi: white people’s work to fight for racial justice in elections” to hear more about how we fight for the best possible political terrain this year and our movement’s vision for the years to come.
We’ll be joined by two Black Southern powerhouses, Rukia Lumumba and Justin Pearson. Rukia is the co-director of the Movement for Black Lives’ Electoral Justice Project and is an abolitionist, founder of anti-carceral, transformative justice organizations in Jackson, Mississippi, and the daughter of the late Mayor Chokwe Lumumba. Justin Pearson is currently running for US Congress in TN-09, and as a representative in the Tennessee state legislature, he is a leader in fights for racial and environmental justice. In 2023, he led a protest against gun violence in the legislature that gained national attention.
The wind is in our sails right now, so now is an important time to get in formation alongside our partners of color, keep our foot on the gas to make our wins this year big, and set ourselves up for even bigger victories in the years to come.