24 Days In. Nearly 700 Miles Marched. Help Us Bring It Home
A progress update from the ground on 1000 Miles to Memphis—and three ways you can keep growing this movement for voting rights
On July 24th we launched 1000 Miles to Memphis on a rainy day in Nashville. It seems like a lifetime ago. We stepped out at 5am to a relentless Nashville, Tennessee rainstorm. In some ways it was symbolic of the storm of opposition we face in the fight for voting rights. A fight that is difficult, uncomfortable, and unending—but undeniably necessary and undeniably worthwhile. It mandates we must persist.
So, nevertheless, we persist.
Today we are 674 miles into our 1,000-mile march for voting rights. To date, what the thousands of you have helped us build quite simply continues to exceed our expectations. Here is where we stand, and how you can help us bring it home in these final 10 days. Let’s Address This.
What You Have Helped Us Build So Far
Since launching on July 24 on the corner of 8th and Rosa Parks Ave in Nashville, TN, we have held more than a dozen organizing events across the south. Several hundreds of people have joined us to march on the ground in real time, through the pouring rain, the blistering heat, the side streets, and even on major highways. (Throughout this march we have maintained safety as a top priority and are proud that we’ve experienced zero injuries to date, and intend to keep it that way). Hundreds more have shown up collectively at our events along the route. Thousands have participated virtually by donating to the march. And tens of thousands of you are with us online—sharing, posting, amplifying, and holding this movement accountable to its mission. And finally, analytics show that our views for this march are already in the tens of millions of view counts and impressions across social media.
None of this happens without community and without courage. The communities that have shown up for us have been extraordinary. And the courage that the leaders leading this march exemplify has been inspiring.
Bearing Witness to America’s History of Anti-Black Terrorism
A major reason for the success of this march so far are the people leading the charge—and Bri Woodson, who serves as our Georgia State Director, exemplifies that courage. This is a photo of Bri on Day 21 of 1000 Miles to Memphis at the National Voting Rights Museum in Selma, Alabama, moments after crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge. I asked how that moment made her feel. She responded.
I stood there, not in fear, but in fascination. The unsettling intimacy of standing face to face with an object built to terrorize people who look like me. I’d never seen the robe filled out before only hanging or folded. It was different.
The KKK was founded by white supremacists who lost the Civil War and couldn’t cope with their insufferable mediocrity. Rather than acknowledge the simple fact of human equality, they launched a yet ongoing 160-year-long sustained terror campaign against Black, brown, and Jewish people in the name of Christianity. Obviously, their message is antithetical to everything Jesus Christ stood for. But make no mistake—the legacy of the KKK is not dead. Instead, we see the direct through line from the KKK to Jim Crow voter suppression. Thus, why it is that much more important we continue to bear witness to these horrors in real time, call them out in real time, and fight back with persistence and courage. On this march we are grateful to Bri for leading by example, bearing witness, and fighting back.
The Organizations Leading the Charge
And along with the thousands of ordinary people who have supported this march, dozens of amazing orgs have led the way. We are deeply grateful to the organizations that have partnered with us on the ground and will continue to work alongside us as we march toward Memphis. While Just Win Humanity will be directly supporting these orgs, I link each of them and encourage you to support them directly as well.
Fair Count (In Mississippi this week!)
These organizations represent exactly what this march is about—rooted, hyperlocal, community-driven organizing that does not wait for permission and does not stop when the cameras move on. We are honored to march alongside them.
The Organizations Helping Fund This Voting Rights March
Moreover, we are profoundly grateful to our sponsors who put real resources behind this movement when it mattered most:
ActBlue—our Gold Sponsor—whose support made this launch possible and whose commitment to voting rights infrastructure is unmatched.
Congressional Black Caucus Pac—our Gold Sponsor—whose support further exemplified their focus on elevating the cause of voting rights and voting access.
Feel Good Action and Common Defense—our Bronze Sponsors—whose early investment sent a signal to the entire movement that this march was real, urgent, and worth backing.
These organizations are not sitting on the sidelines. They are leading by example. And we are asking you to do the same. If you are reading this, I am asking you commit to at least one of the following. Ideally two. And if you can, all three calls to action.
How You Can Get Involved
ONE: Show Up. Walk a mile, a day, or a full leg of the route.
TWO: Donate. The 1,000 Miles to Memphis march is a project of Just Win Humanity—a 501(c)(3) public charity. Small dollar tax deductible donations make all the difference in the world.
THREE: Register Yourself and Your Network. You do not have to be in Nashville or Memphis to register voters. You can do it right now, from wherever you are.
Closing Thoughts
Perhaps the biggest reason we launched 1000 Miles to Memphis is to elevate the local orgs doing the work. The local, Black led, women led, immigrant led organizations who are on the ground every single day leading the right for voting rights. And in doing so we’ve built wonderful friendships that I know will be long lasting. Most of all, we remain angry and hopeful. Angry at the status quo for our country, and then channeling that anger into action, because we remain hopeful for a more perfect union in the days, months, and years to come.
You can help hasten that future. Especially as we enter the final 10 days of this march, when fatigue hits new levels we didn’t know existed, when those marching have been away from their families—sometimes for weeks—we need you to continue to show up.
Sign up to march, donate if you can, and register yourself and at least 10 friends to vote. As you post online, use hashtags #1000Miles and #CourageNow on every post. Follow and tag @JustWinHumanity on Instagram so your community can find us. Partner with us in whatever capacity makes most sense for you—we are grateful for every bit of the support. Let us persist, together.
I will continue to provide updates as we wind down this march. Thank you for your incredible and continued trust. It is truly making all the difference.
As an alternative to a paid subscription, by popular demand, you can now make a one-time contribution to support our human rights platform.
Thank you for all you have done and your tireless efforts to promote positive change and a better world.
Sharing this with friends and orgs I belong to. Wish I could walk with you. This is so inspiring.