Dear PA family,

As the results of this election sink in, our minds and hearts are heavy. We are grieving. We find hope in local and state progressive victories. We look ahead to what this time will require of us.

We are grieving. We grieve because today people of color, Muslims, LGBTQ folks, people with disabilities, women, and many others feel less safe and less valued in this country. We grieve because we expect and fear unprecedented rollbacks of policies that protect people and our planet. We reject reactions to this election that undermine the legitimacy of these fears. We must not bury the fear and pain we feel in this moment. Masking our country's widespread fear and anger will only normalize hate, racism and misogyny.

We find hope in local and state progressive victories. As we prepare for unprecedented battles at the national level, we are grateful that progress won for many of our friends in local races. We find hope and light in this:

Shamieka Rhinehart will be our District Court Judge. Heidi Carter, James Hill, Brenda Howerton, Wendy Jacobs, Ellen Reckhow will be our County Commissioners. Mike Woodard, Floyd McKissick, Graig Meyer, Henry Michaux, and the person who has the honor of filling Paul Luebke's seat will fight for our shared values in the state legislature. State Representative James Hall will continue as NC House Democratic Leader. Mike Morgan will be North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice, Josh Stein will be Attorney General and we are confident that Roy Cooper will prevail in the recount and be our next Governor. Representatives Price and Butterfield will continue to represent us in Congress.

We have Durham to thank for this hope. We are proud of People's Alliance's pivotal role in securing these electoral victories. We want to express our immense gratitude to Kate Fellman and all the You Can Vote volunteers (a program we are proud to say was born out of PA). We know our efforts here in Durham matter and make a difference.

We believe in these elected officials and know that they will fight for a Durham and a country where all people can live well. We have to be prepared to work with them - to back them up when they need us, to help create pathways for them to be bold​,​ and to push them toward opportunities to go further in our fight for progress.

We look ahead to what this time will require of us. This election is a dark moment in American history; one that marks a powerful rise of the forces of racism​, Islamophobia,​ and misogyny that have always been a plague on this nation's soul. But it will also mark the time that we rise up. This is the moment when unprecedented local organizing and bold activism will create change. This work will not wait until the next election. For Democracy to work, for justice to prevail, we must show up for this work every day.

As the People's Alliance board, we commit to joining with our community and other progressive organizations in Durham to create a bold, intersectional activist movement. As individuals, we commit to recognizing the privileges we each possess and using those to put ourselves between hateful forces and people of color, Muslims, LGTBQ folks, women, people with disabilities and our other family and friends who are subjected to violence and disenfranchisement.

In the coming weeks, we will work to determine how People's Alliance can strengthen the movement required by these times. This work will take all of us - please join us.

We will fight.

With love and compassion,

People's Alliance Board

Vernetta Alston, Eric Boven, John Davis, DeDreana Freeman, Dabney Hopkins, Marion Johnson, Kendra Montgomery-Blinn, Destini Riley, Carl Rist, Lanya Shapiro, Ryan Smith, Sondra Stein, Sara Terry, Magan Thigpen, Tommie Watson