Dear Sisters,

It is time for us to demand payment on the debt owed to us for our efforts at the polls. Most of you know that women of color, Black women specifically, vote more than any other demographic in the nation. In the last Presidential election cycles, we have done more than our part to elect candidates promising to address economic inequality, criminal justice reform health disparities, and other challenges that hinder our forward progress.

But when we ask legislators to act and fulfill their promises, we are often told we are asking too much, or that change takes time. I have had enough of those common refrains and ask today that you join me in demanding that our U.S. Senators act and help the MILLIONS of Americans struggling in the wake of COVID-19.

On Saturday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Rescue Plan. The $1.9 trillion plan, per the White House website, will:

• Mount a national vaccination program, contain COVID-19, and safely reopen schools, including by setting up community vaccination sites nationwide, scaling up testing and tracing, eliminating supply shortage problems, investing in high-quality treatments, providing paid sick leave to contain spread of the virus, addressing health disparities, and making the necessary investments to meet the president’s goal of safely reopening a majority of K-8 schools in the first 100 days.
  
• Deliver immediate relief to working families bearing the brunt of this crisis by sending $1,400 per-person checks to households across America, providing direct housing and nutrition assistance, expanding access to safe and reliable childcare and affordable healthcare, increasing the minimum wage, extending unemployment insurance, and giving families with kids and childless workers an emergency boost this year.
  
• Support communities that are struggling in the wake of COVID-19 by providing support for the hardest-hit small businesses, especially small businesses owned by entrepreneurs of color, and protecting the jobs of the first responders, transit workers, and other essential workers we depend on.

Why should we DEMAND action on this rescue package? Because millions of sisters are struggling mightily now, and we should EXPECT the folks we elected to represent our interests.

A few weeks ago, WE CAN shared data about how the COVID-19 pandemic is causing severe financial issues for women and families of color. We owe it to ourselves and each other to raise our voices and demand that the U.S. Senate act ASAP to get relief to the millions who are unemployed, hungry, near eviction, and desperate for help.

Take time TODAY and CLICK HERE to write to your U.S. Senator asking him or her to support the White House plan to rescue millions of sisters (and brothers) from the brink.

In solidarity,

Stephanie McGencey, WE CAN Founder