Their efforts to undo a century of progress

It's been 70 years to the day since the U.S. Supreme Court decided that separate is not equal in the Brown v. Board of Education decision. That anniversary reminds us of the positive steps we have taken toward dismantling systemic racism and restoring civil rights, and how much further there is still to go. It also serves as a reminder of the threat that radical right-wing extremism poses to a century of progress.

The one branch of government intended to be devoid of partisan politics has been overrun by extremist Republicans, and civil rights have become critically endangered. In the last few years, the Court has rolled back hard-won rights — from reproductive freedom to environmental protections.

The right to vote, the right to health care, and the right to live free from discrimination have all been undermined by the radicalized Court.

The Supreme Court's job is not to create laws but to interpret them. Thanks to political theater on the Hill, the unelected Supreme Court Justices are now deciding what happens in this country instead of Congress.

As Congress fails to act boldly to codify abortion rights, expand and enforce voting rights, re-establish affirmative action, ban discrimination, or take on environmental racism, the situation is only getting worse. But we have the power to fight back. We have the power to create laws and protect the generations of progress we have made in the last 70 years.

The fight to protect and expand our civil rights in America is long, but we've made so much progress in the last few decades – and we can't go back.

To defend our civil liberties, we need to flip the House, and that starts by winning in places like Massachusetts. Will you join the fight to ensure that the arc of the moral universe bends toward justice by pitching in today?

One thing we have learned since 1954 is that we are in this together. Your struggle may be different than your neighbors, but both are rooted in resisting the same unjust system. No one is free until everyone is free.

On the 70th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision let's stand in solidarity, fight at the intersection of injustice, and uphold the legacy of resistance that has defined the best pieces of our culture and politics.

Gratefully,

Jim McGovern