Color Of Change PAC

Know your history.

Bayard Rustin was a key organizer of the Freedom Rides and the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. He advocated for economic equality within the Civil Rights Movement and, as an openly gay man, championed social rights for gay and le***an people as well.

We are where we are today in part because of his life’s work. 🎨: @/nataleecooper on Instagram

Today, we celebrate the birth of the one and only Ella Baker!

As the primary advisor and strategist of SNCC Legacy Project, she promoted grassroots organizing and firmly believed in the ability of the oppressed to understand their experiences and advocate for themselves. It is this vision that built SNCC into what we know it as today — a groundbreaking agent of grassroots organizing in the Civil Rights Movement.

Read more about her here: https://snccdigital.org/people/ella-baker/

🎨: @/nataleecooper on Instagram

Today, we celebrate the birth of the one and only Shirley Chisholm. She broke several barriers as the first Black woman to be elected to the U.S. Congress in 1968 and the first Black candidate for a major party nomination for the U.S. presidency.

One of the trucks during her 1968 campaign announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is fighting Shirley Chisholm coming through.” Fighting Shirley Chisholm not only came through and became a catalyst of change, but also paved the way for generations after her to build Black political power.

🎨: @/nataleecooper on Instagram

Today would have been Chadwick Boseman’s 47th birthday.

To millions of kids today and beyond, T’Challa is an inspiration and a legend larger than life. The impact of this role and his celebrated career will echo for generations to come.

🎨: @/nikkolas_smith on Instagram

A recent federal appeals court ruling is likely headed to the Supreme Court — where if it stands, it would worsen the rollback of the very Voting Rights Act that has led to increased Black political power and representation in the US.

Read more below ⬇️

Federal appeals court ruling threatens enforcement of the Voting Rights Act The decision from the 8th Circuit is likely headed to the Supreme Court.

5 years of Becoming. ✨

Michelle Obama’s memoir was the highest-selling book published in the US in 2018 — setting the record only 15 days after its publication. 💪🏾

In this picture (📷 : Richard Drew/AP file), she signs books during an appearance for her book in November 2018.

🎉 Congratulations, Cherelle Parker! Congratulations, Philly! 🎉

Mark our words: This is the era of Black women in American politics.

Democrat Cherelle Parker will become Philadelphia’s first female mayor Parker was officially elected Philadelphia’s 100th mayor on Tuesday. The Democrat is the first woman to hold the office.

Ohio voters have shut down an extremely restrictive and dangerous six-week abortion ban by enshrining the right “to one’s own reproductive medical treatment” into the state constitution. 👏🏾

There will be similar showdowns in Arizona, Florida, Missouri, and other states in 2024 — and the movement will continue enshrining abortion rights.

The victory streak for reproductive freedom will continue. 💪🏾

Ohio voters enshrine abortion rights in state constitution NBC News projects that Ohio voters have passed Issue 1, yet another win for abortion-rights supporters at the ballot box after the fall of Roe v. Wade.

Ohio’s constitutional amendment on abortion. Kentucky and Mississippi governor. Control of the Virginia General Assembly. Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Mayors in Houston, Uvalde, and more.

Across the country, voting rights, gun laws, abortion, and other issues are on the line today. @ the movement: You know what to do. 🗳️✊🏾

Stay up to date with here ➡️ https://apnews.com/article/election-2023-kentucky-mississippi-governor-virginia-ohio-abortion-uvalde-houston-c1ebf7c4af31da60bd96a8158c86fb29

“In order for us as poor and oppressed people to become part of a society that is meaningful, the system under which we now exist has to be radically changed… It means facing a system that does not lend itself to your needs and devising means by which you change that system.” -Ella Baker

Ella Baker was the primary advisor and strategist of SNCC, as well as an important mentor for activists such as Diane Nash, Stokely Carmichael, and Bob Moses.

Make sure you know your history — and the women who made it possible.

"I think the importance of doing activist work is precisely because it allows you to give back and to consider yourself not as a single individual who may have achieved whatever but to be a part of an ongoing historical movement." -Angela Davis

📷:

"Partisan rulings have weakened our democracy and set our rights back by decades. In the face of these extreme decisions and flagrant ethical abuses, Americans' faith in the court has plunged to record lows."

A Marquette University Law School survey published this week even revealed that a majority of U.S. adults support expanding the number of justices on the Supreme Court.

We agree. To pursue true justice, we must . 🗣️

Majority Backs Expanded SCOTUS Amid 'Extreme Decisions and Flagrant Ethical Abuses': Poll "Partisan rulings have weakened our democracy and set our rights back by decades," said one expansion advocate.

On this day in 1995, 800,000+ Black men gathered in Washington, D.C. for the Million Man March to shape the political landscape through voter registration campaigns.

~30 years later, we are carrying on the fight to mobilize Black voters and deliver progress for our communities.

George Floyd would have turned 50 today.

In memory of George and the countless people murdered by the police, let us rise up together to demand our government systems prioritize public safety for all. 🕊️

It's true! But we can't JUST vote.

To fight for a less hostile and more human world for Black people, we have to organize our communities every day for the issues we care about — whether local, national, or global. 😌☝🏾

We’re witnessing a wave of anti-voting legislation not seen since the birth of Jim Crow. Fortunately, Black Americans have always led the voting rights movement.

We must continue to fuel the movement for a multiracial democracy by building Black political power and organizing our communities towards justice. ✊🏾

Your ballot isn’t a pop quiz — you can see exactly what’s on your ballot ahead of time. 📝

Now, before you ignore the rest of this post, did you know that there are ~150 elections happening across the country before the end of 2023?

Are you ready to vote in them? If not, make sure you get by learning about candidates, ballot initiatives, possible constitutional amendments, and more here ➡️ https://votereducationweek.org/research-your-ballot/

Don't just talk about it — be about it. 😤

You are more likely to vote if you make a plan to do it. You are also more likely to build Black political power and shape our country for the better if you vote.

So get your TODAY ⬇️

Make a plan to vote - National Voter Education Week Don’t just wing it — make a plan to vote! Have questions about how to make a plan to vote?

Happy birthday to the first woman of color to represent Minnesota and the first Somali American in Congress, Rep. Ilhan Omar!

Rep. Omar is an advocate for a $15 minimum wage, universal healthcare, student loan debt forgiveness, the protection of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, and abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

She has consistently fought for the communities who elected her — it’s why we endorsed her in 2018, and also why she received the largest percentage of the vote of any female candidate for the U.S. House in Minnesota history. 👏🏾

Today for , make sure you get ! 📬

Voting by mail is powerful — we've seen how it delivers victories to progressive candidates who will fight for us — but did you know that it's also very, very easy?

Request your mail-in ballot and get some of your FAQs about it answered here ➡️ http://votereducationweek.org/register-to-vote/

Let's continue kicking off by remembering that voting rights were only recently granted to all Americans.

Disenfranchised Americans will continue fighting like hell for their voting rights until we all have equitable access to the ballot box.

On this day in 1967, Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as the Supreme Court’s first Black justice. From winning the Brown v. Board of Education case to serving on the highest court in the land for 24 years, he helped pave the way for Black Americans in our country’s political and legal system.

Let's carry on his legacy by continuing to build Black political power.

It's ! All week long, we'll be sharing important information on how to be a powerful voter. ✊🏾

You can start getting by registering to vote or checking your registration status — a crucial step toward building Black political power in our government.

Do both at votereducationweek.org/register-to-vote/! 🗳️

To the greatest athlete of all time, who carried herself with grace and tenacity as she broke barriers in a predominantly white sport — happy birthday!

Thank you, Serena Williams, for continuing to inspire us towards greatness.

Today we celebrate the birthday of pathbreaking Black feminist, bell hooks.

bell didn’t just challenge the systems that oppressed us.

She also worked to build a world that loved us — and because of her, we’re one step closer to justice for all.

On this day in 1957, the Little Rock Nine attended their first full day of classes at Central High School.

Ernest Green, Elizabeth Eckford, Jefferson Thomas, Terrence Roberts, Carlotta Walls LaNier, Minnijean Brown, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Thelma Mothershed, and Melba Pattillo Beals braved jeering students and violent mobs to claim their right to an equal education.

Artist Lyuba Bogan honors their legacy in the painting below, titled “Reflections.”

Reverend Raphael Warnock is a true defender of democracy and advocate for public safety.

Recently, he urged the city of Atlanta to accept all eligible signatures against Cop City.

Thank you, Senator Warnock, for using your platform to amplify your community’s fights for justice.

Warnock to Dickens: Every eligible signature matters Sen. Raphael Warnock is urging the City of Atlanta to ensure that all eligible signatures are accepted regarding the Police Training Center.

can't happen without registering to vote while Black. 🤷🏾

Check your status at bit.ly/NVRDReg2Vote ✔️

Happy National Voter Registration Day! 🗳️

Register to vote at bit.ly/NRVDReg2Vote ✔️

It's ! 🗳️ Are you registered to vote? Are you prepared to continue building the Black political power this country needs?

The fact of the matter is, and registering to vote while Black go hand in hand. Make sure you do both. ✅

Register to vote or check your registration status here ➡️ http://bit.ly/NVRDReg2Vote

On this day in 1971, the Attica prison uprising ended in one of the most horrific instances of state violence in recent history.

Incarcerated people in the New York prison had risen up to demand better treatment, better living conditions, and basic rights.

Remember this event in your fight for a truly just system.

In 1936, Jesse Owens broke Olympic records and won four gold medals in the heart of the N**i regime. The son of a sharecropper and grandson of enslaved people, he shattered ideologies of white supremacy.

Today, we celebrate the birth of one of the greatest athletes in history.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has long been kicking out officials he doesn't like — even when they're democratically elected — and replacing them with people he does.

Now, he’s taking this fight to the next level in what could become an ideological gerrymandering of the state's justice system.

We must mobilize against these attacks on democracy. Read more below ⬇️

Ron DeSantis’s Next Ideological Coup: “Judicial Gerrymander” in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s allies took steps to remake Florida’s circuit courts — potentially ousting more elected prosecutors and even judges.

Nine months before Rosa Parks’ arrest, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin refused to give up her bus seat for a white passenger. Her act of resistance planted the seed for the pivotal Montgomery bus boycott.

Today, we celebrate the birth of this civil rights pioneer.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/feb/25/claudette-colvin-the-woman-who-refused-to-give-up-her-bus-seat-nine-months-before-rosa-parks?fbclid=IwAR3FU8DYbVpU6EYYimPXCuaZiLPbfTlmPQufdUwL_Cu-bOr1298jDZCxtuM

Claudette Colvin: the woman who refused to give up her bus seat – nine months before Rosa Parks It was a spring afternoon in 1955 when a teenager’s spontaneous act of defiance changed US history. Why did it take 40 years for her to get any credit?

On this day in 1838, Frederick Douglass began his escape from slavery. He would go on to write three autobiographies: "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave" (1845), "My Bo***ge and My Freedom" (1855), and "Life and Times of Frederick Douglass" (1881).

Today, his life's work as an abolitionist still inspires us towards justice for all. We’re honored to continue carrying out his work to build Black political power.