This Is the Moment We Were Built For
Happy Belated Mother’s Day 💐
To every mother, grandmother, godmother, bonus mom, auntie, and every woman who has ever mothered in any form — WE CAN sees you. We honor you. The love you pour out every single day, often with little appreciation, is the foundation on which our communities are built. Thank you for allowing us to carry your strength with us as we fight against the dark forces working so hard to destroy our children’s futures.
They Are Coming for Our Votes — Again!
Sisters and allies, this has been one of the most devastating weeks for voting rights and democratic representation in recent memory. We have to call it what it is — a coordinated, multi-front attack on the political power of Black voters and people of color. More specifically, the political power of Black women, one of the most consistent voting groups in the nation. We MUST not run away from this fight.
It is important to emphasize that this post is not a criticism of a specific political party; instead, this document is designed to ensure you KNOW what is happening to make it darn near impossible for people of color to have representation among those elected to all levels of government.
Tennessee eliminates its only majority-Black congressional district. On May 7, 2026, the Republican-led Tennessee legislature passed a new congressional map that literally splits the city of Memphis, one of the nation’s largest majority-Black cities, into three separate districts, effectively silencing Black voters by “cracking” them across Republican-dominated rural districts. The result? Tennessee will almost certainly send an all-Republican, all-white congressional delegation to Washington for the first time in state history. Governor Bill Lee signed it into law the same day. The NAACP has filed an emergency lawsuit, calling it a “direct attack on our democracy.” Critically, this is the first map passed as a direct result of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling gutting the Voting Rights Act.
Louisiana halts its own elections and prepares to wipe out Black representation. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on April 29, 2026 that Louisiana’s congressional map, which had been redrawn to create a second majority-Black district as required by courts, was an unconstitutional “racial gerrymander.” Louisiana then suspended its own U.S. House primaries, which were already underway and had already started early voting, to redraw maps. Legal scholars noted the staggering hypocrisy: the Court invoked the Purcell principle (which prohibits officials from changing election rules close to an election) in other states to block Democratic-favored interventions, but set it aside here to let Louisiana remake its districts mid-election cycle. The new map is expected to eliminate at least one of the two majority-Black districts.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signs what legal experts are calling one of the most extreme partisan gerrymanders in American history. The new map, drawn in secret using partisan data and released first to Fox News color-coded in red and blue, is designed to give Republicans 24 of Florida’s 28 congressional seats. The lawsuit filed on behalf of Florida voters states plainly: “The question is not whether this map is a partisan gerrymander, because it is.” Tampa is split three ways. Orlando is carved into five pieces. Florida voters approved the Fair Districts Amendment in 2010 with 62.9% of the vote to ban exactly this. DeSantis and his lawyers have essentially argued that the entire Amendment should be thrown out. Overriding the will of voters is nothing new for the Republican-led legislature. The League of Women Voters shared a number of ways the Florida legislature is hindering the right to vote in its December 2024 article, “Florida’s Voter Intimidation Crisis.”
Virginia voters spoke — and a court silenced them. On April 21, 2026, more than 3 million Virginians voted to approve a redistricting referendum that would have allowed the state to draw fairer congressional maps. The Virginia Supreme Court struck down those results 4-3 on May 8, ruling that lawmakers had not followed proper procedural steps before putting the amendment on the ballot. The $5.2 million special election was rendered null and void. Nearly $100 million in total had been spent by both sides. Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones called the decision “putting politics over the rule of law.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said overturning the will of more than 3 million voters “will not stand.”
One important note of context: the Virginia Supreme Court’s ruling is based on state constitutional procedure — not the U.S. Supreme Court. Unlike in Louisiana and Tennessee, where federal courts and the Republican-appointed U.S. Supreme Court are actively dismantling Black voting power, this ruling rests on Virginia’s own constitution. However, it is part of the same coordinated national campaign to change election maps before November 2026, and the timing — the very same week as federal court rulings gutting the Voting Rights Act — is not a coincidence.
Did you write or call your elected officials to let them know you want them to protect the right of persons eligible to vote?
No shame if you didn’t, but I have to ask: what are you waiting for? We don’t have a second to waste to prevent any more damage from the dark forces working to take away our right to vote.
📣THREE WAYS TO MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD 📣
📞 STEP 1: CALL YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS
Calls are tallied. Positions are noted. You don’t have to be an expert — just a constituent with something to say.
Congressional switchboard: 📞 1-202-224-3121 (connects to any member’s office) Find your rep: https://live.cicerodata.com/
Share your concerns about the ruling. Ask where your member stands. Speak from your own life and experience. Log your call and share it with #NameYourVote.
✍️ STEP 2: SEND A LETTER — IN YOUR OWN WORDS
We’ve prepared a letter you can personalize and send directly to your representatives. You can add to the letter and make it reflect your own story and beliefs.
👉 Click https://tinyurl.com/WECANJLVRAA to send your letter(s)!
📬 STEP 3: SHARE YOUR VOICE ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Share why voting rights matter to you. Ask your members publicly where they stand. Tag us: @womensequity — we will amplify you.
Hashtags: #NameYourVote #JohnLewisVotingRightsAct #JLVRAA #WeCanMD #GoodTrouble #RestAndRevolution
🏛️FOR OUR MARYLAND COMMUNITY
Senator Chris Van Hollen: 📞 (301) 322-6560 Senator Angela Alsobrooks: 📞 (301) 322-6560 Rep. Glenn Ivey (MD-4): 📞 (301) 773-4522 Rep. Kweisi Mfume (MD-7): 📞 (410) 685-9199 Capitol Switchboard (any member): 📞 202-224-3121
YOUR CIVIC ACTION CHECKLIST
| Action | How |
| 📞 Call Congress | 1-202-224-3121 |
| ✍️ Send an Action Letter | https://tinyurl.com/WECANJLVRAA |
| 📱 Post on Social Media | #NameYourVote #WeCan |
| 💛 Rest on Purpose | You know what restores you. Do that. |
We Have to Fight Like We’ve Never Fought Before
Too many folks are bound and determined to use any means necessary to win. We need to match—and exceed—their energy and fight like hell. My grandmother had a 3rd-grade education, and because battles were fought and won to educate Black children in the South, her children received an education. And subsequent generations went on to become activists, serve in the military, work at all levels of government, and one is a Christian pastor. There are THOUSANDS of examples of our ancestors fighting for and winning rights; most made huge sacrifices, and some paid with their lives, and we owe it to them to fight to retain (and expand) what they worked so hard for.
We can’t count on the courts, racist legislators, a flawed campaign finance structure, and ‘white saviors’ to help us. Like our ancestors, we must rely on ourselves to build a thoughtful, strategic response to push back! We can’t allow 60 years of civil rights gains to be dismantled without a fight.
But keeping it 100 (as the young people say), this fight is going to be ugly. It will require us to show up when it’s inconvenient, uncomfortable, and possibly dangerous. Some of us will be arrested. Some of us will lose resources trying to stay in the fight. And just like our foremothers, we will take care of each other. Mutual aid societies, rent parties, bartering services, GoFundMe campaigns, and whatever else we need to do to make it through.
But ALL Is Not Lost — Not Even Close
WE CAN still vote. WE CAN still organize. WE CAN still elect candidates who will govern with the best interests of all Americans at heart — candidates who will fight to expand health care access, reform education, and protect the rights and dignity of every constituent they serve.
The ballot box remains one of the most powerful tools we have. They are working this hard to suppress our votes because they know what WE CAN do when we show up. Let’s make them earn every inch of resistance. Let’s register new voters. Let’s know our new district lines. Let’s support candidates in local races — school boards, state legislatures, attorneys general — because that is where the maps get drawn and the laws get written.
It is only by working together — across neighborhood lines, across generations, across the divides they count on to keep us fragmented — that WE CAN change what is happening in this country. No one of us can do this alone. But together? We have done the impossible before.
WE SIMPLY CANNOT LET THEM WIN.
In solidarity and action,
Dr. Stephanie, WE CAN Founder