This morning we woke to heaviness and uncertainty. We cannot predict the future, but there is no denying: we elected a president who promised retribution, who dehumanized so many people, and who spewed blatant hate and harm. It remains to be seen how deep and how wide the impact will be of this election, but the fear—especially for those most marginalized and demonized—is real.
We have to sit with that. And we should pause and absorb the pain of that reality.
But I want to offer something: we have been through this before. We have been pushing the boulder of true justice and racial equity up the hill since the founding of this country. History has taught us repeatedly that progress up the hill is often followed by rollback.
From the promise of Reconstruction when Black people gained representation and power after slavery, and the backlash of Jim Crow; to the progress of the Civil Rights Movement and the regressive policies that led to the war on drugs and mass incarceration. We stand on the shoulders of so many who persisted in the work at far greater risk with far fewer resources.
They succeeded because they worked together and found power in community. That will ultimately be the cure to the pain we feel: care for one another and power in community.
We are here with you right now. Our EJUSA community is built on a vision of healing and safety for all, a vision where violence is rare and we collectively reject anti-Blackness and racism of every kind.
The playing field for 2025 and beyond will be much different than we had hoped. But our fundamental goal remains the same. Safety is always on the ballot. Each and every one of us wants to be safe.
Our healing approach to safety will be critical given all that we’ve experienced and all that is to come. And the essence of community safety doesn’t change. For everyone, everywhere, the ingredients to thrive include good jobs, affordable housing, quality education, health care, and much more.
I hope it helps to remind you that this is not our first election. EJUSA has been around for more than 30 years. We have team members who have been with us for 15 and even 20 years, weathering the impact of elections from cities to states to our federal representatives. We are already planning how to meet the challenge while always holding firm to our values and our core mission.
We will heal those who heal their communities. We will drive funding into those same communities to strengthen the solutions they built that bring them safety. We will challenge the violence of today’s criminal legal system. And we will tell the story of all this work so others can know that there is a different pathway to safety.
We will continue to make an impact through care and community.
Please invest in this mission. I hope you can see how vital it will be in the months and years to come, as we heal together from this election.
Toward true justice,
Jamila Hodge
Chief Executive Officer
