My 'Bama Says: America’s 250th birthday

Diane,

America will celebrate its 250th birthday next week.

It can be easy to overlook just how incredible — and improbable — this milestone is. America has always been an experiment, defined by the belief that people united not by race or ethnicity but by a shared set of ideals can live and work together.

We’ve seen the power of that belief over the last two and a half centuries. But our democracy has never been self-executing. At every turn, we’ve had to keep it alive. Revolutionaries, inventors, abolitionists, suffragists, civil rights leaders, entrepreneurs, and organizers have worked and sacrificed to keep us moving forward.

Of course, there have always been people who don’t believe in the American experiment — leaders who put their self-interest ahead of the common good, and would prefer to take us backward rather than give up their own wealth and power.

But generation after generation, the American people have prevailed. They’ve rolled up their sleeves, locked arms, and done the hard work of building a more perfect union.

Now it’s our turn to answer the call.

The National Democratic Redistricting Committee has a plan to defeat the gerrymandering that threatens fair elections so we can ensure that the will of the people ultimately prevails. Can we count on you to make a donation to fund the work of defending democracy?

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We celebrate this historic milestone because it took heroism and sacrifice to get here. It took leaders who had a vision for what America could be — and who helped make it real.

Together, they believed in an America where everyone has an equal opportunity to make their voices heard. Where every person is equal under the law, no matter who they are or where they live. Where elections are always free and fair.

250 years after America’s founding, that vision is still our north star. Attorney General Eric Holder and I founded the NDRC to protect the promise of America from the extreme, anti-democratic forces trying to undermine it.

Right now, too many Republicans are trying to hold onto power and silence voters. They’re manipulating district maps to entrench themselves, while making it harder for ordinary citizens — especially in Black and brown communities — to elect the representatives they want.

But in America, we the people get the final say. It’s our turn to roll up our sleeves and help strengthen the fabric of our nation. I believe we will rise to meet the urgency of this moment. If you can, please make a donation to the NDRC, and let’s get to work.

Thank you,

Barack Obama

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