This week marked the culmination of months of anticipation, momentum, and collective efforts, as citizens nationwide turned out to vote with passion and purpose. Individuals with boundless aspirations showed up to the polls in every corner of the country, casting their ballots to shape our collective future.
But, today, we face a glaring reality: the actions of the past several years have tested our democracy in unprecedented ways, and its future hangs in the balance. It was always undeniably clear that regardless of the outcome of this year’s election, this fact would remain true, though we now find ourselves at an accelerated inflection point. With growing assaults on voting rights, attacks on truth and inclusivity in schools, and an erosion of trust in our institutions meant to instill justice, equality, and accountability, it is evident our nation’s highest virtues have been stretched and tested, and will continue to be challenged.
What will unfurl in the weeks and months ahead may feel dismaying, precarious, and daunting — because it is. Throughout our nation’s history, Black people have never been spared such challenges. And, yet, they have stood firm, unyielding in pursuit of an America that represents our full citizenship and dignity. The architects of our modern America – civil rights activists, community organizers, and dedicated citizens with a transformative dream – never backed down. LDF was quite literally built for moments like these: times when, amid precarity and chaos, clarion vision, sustained course, and fearless resolve guide us forward.
History has demonstrated that true change comes not from a single election or moment in time, but rather through the long haul. If, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. so wisely stated, the arc of the moral universe is long but bends toward justice, this winding path is led through the sustained dedication and action of people willing to catalyze it. In this precarious time, I think of the enduring work of LDF and its allies, amid uncertainty, to push those bounds. The fight to protect and advance American democracy is entrenched in a legacy of Black activism dating back to Reconstruction.
For example, following intense backlash against citizenship laws for newly-freed Black people culminating in Jim Crow segregation, LDF founder and first Director-Counsel Thurgood Marshall successfully secured a landmark victory in Smith v. Allwright in 1944, which struck down Texas’ whites-only primaries. Bolstered with hope and enthusiasm despite continued resistance, LDF successfully devised a coordinated strategy to fight legally-sanctioned apartheid in America’s schools, resulting in Brown and Brown II. Amid extreme violence and massive resistance against desegregation, LDF and its allies nonetheless persevered, organizing from church basements to the nation’s highest legal chambers. From the streets of Mississippi during Freedom Summer to the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma where brave foot soldiers faced brutal violence and intimidation, Black communities stood resiliently.
We encountered the same widespread backlash in the aftermath of the protests of summer 2020, during which people around the globe came together to take a stand against anti-Black racism and police brutality following the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless other victims. In response to the progress made by these advocates for justice, many states lobbed regressive counterweights: they introduced unprecedented numbers of anti-DEI legislation, voter suppression bills, anti-truth measures, and book bans that seek to erase Black, LGBTQ+, and other historically oppressed histories from classrooms. But we will not back down. In a climate that is as uncertain, chilling, and deeply challenging now as in the past, Black communities continue to show up brazenly in this fight — led by a belief that change is not only possible, but is critically necessary.
While the occupants in government will change in the new year, true leadership cannot be confined to politics. Indeed, Thurgood Marshall defined freedom as “people realizing they are their own leaders.” Black people holding on to that sense of agency and self-determination will be as important as ever. Across the country, Black communities have met this current moment of unprecedented challenges with tenacity and a strong faith in what is just and right. Through the vibrant, storied legacy of Black communities taking a stand for their rightful place within our multiracial democracy — molding the very essence of America’s tomorrow — we carry on.
Our work at LDF — through litigation, advocacy, education, storytelling, and organizing — will also carry on. LDF’s mission to advance racial justice remains ceaseless and unfettered. From defending against attacks on reproductive rights and anti-truth efforts in classrooms, to advocating for accountability in public safety, quality housing, and jobs, our work moves forward with hope and purpose. The only question that remains is which of our multitude of tools and decisive strategies we will employ to meet this moment with swift urgency. Those of us who see and feel the boundless potential of this radical American experiment still have the power to shape and transform it. We will continue to honor our noble calling to fight for its future — together and unafraid.
On November 20, 2024, LDF held a Town Hall to discuss the 2024 elections, what’s next for civil rights and our nation, and LDF’s insight into our work preparing for the of the 2024 election and all possible outcomes. LDF President and Director-Counsel Janai Nelson and Director of Policy Demetria McCain led the conversation and answered questions from community members.
