Voting is a movement action. It is movement towards justice which weaves the seemingly disparate, sometimes competing threads of issues, policies, and politicians together into an act of collective power. Though we assert that voting is not the only means for participation in the longstanding movement towards our intersecting liberations, Racial Justice BK (RJBK) recognizes that voting has implications for so many aspects of our lives. Issues of health, reproductive rights, sexual orientation, gender identity, women’s empowerment, art, culture, recreation, education, social services, policing, prosecution, incarceration, environment, climate, energy, homelessness, gentrification, housing, economic development, privacy and digital justice—none of these are safe from the hostile assaults of institutionalized racism. Therefore, we have chosen to weigh-in this election cycle; choosing candidates for endorsement based on their commitment to actively engage and combat a system hostile to racial equity.

We see our endorsement as a vital action towards building community agency. It is also critical to our vision of relationship-building. Whether it is the relationship between a constituency and its electeds, organizers and the communities served, or political advocates and policymakers, Racial Justice BK insists that at minimum, these must be peer-to-peer, mutual power relationships. Furthermore, we insist on solutions that spring from and are grounded in the collective wisdom of those most impacted. Some parts of democracy cannot be delegated. Beyond participation, community leadership is required. Therefore, we have chosen candidates we think will exercise the needed leadership by being humble enough to be led by the people. 

In order to achieve our complex aspirations, we chose a simple process.

​​

• We prioritized the individual candidates and their communities, not their party affiliations. Our goal was to ensure their trajectory was on track to the racial justice future we imagine and work to manifest.

 

• We considered their vested interest in the political power status quo; and/or their willingness to “shake things up.” Our goal was candidate accessibility and accountability to community stakeholders.

 

• We did not choose based on district or specific electoral contest. Our goal was to proactively choose candidates who modeled what matters; not merely to be against candidates we don't want to win.

Now we’d like to invite you into this electoral process. Consider supporting the candidates we have chosen. And perhaps equally important, consider the criteria that we have used in order to arrive at this short list. However you arrived at your own choices, we would like you to actively apply a racial justice lens when making the decision to lend your political support. Think we missed something? Let us know. Further, 

​​

• Share our endorsed candidates with your family, friends, and extended personal and community networks, especially those that live in-district.

 

•  Work with us in being a community resource to educate candidates about needs and solutions, and deepen their accountability to community stakeholders.