This month, Equality North Carolina is observing Black August, a month-long period of remembrance about the history of anti-Black, violent, systematic oppression in this country and the giants and revolutionaries who laid the foundation for the work of our movements today.

Over the past several weeks, we've considered the ways that Black and Brown LGBTQ people have always been at the forefront of the battle for civil rights, even if they didn't stand in the spotlight. We've also unpacked the prison industrial complex and how this set of interlocking systems has perpetuated the enslavement of Black and Brown bodies in our modern world.

But how do we begin to dismantle these systems of oppression that shape the lives and experiences of marginalized people all across this country?

The answer, at least for right now, is that it begins at the ballot box.

This year, we must vote for trans women -- especially those of color -- who are facing an epidemic of violence.

We must vote for working-class folks and for those living in poverty while they battle the pandemic's impact on their lives.

We must vote for incarcerated people and the Black and Brown folks whose lives have been decimated by the criminal justice system.

We must vote for the families whose children were separated at the border and the children in cages.

We must vote for Americans without healthcare who have no way to pay their medical bills.

We must vote for our LGBTQ youth living in shelters and on the streets without families to call their own.

We must vote for vulnerable folks around the world who are impacted by the policies of our government.

We must vote for a more compassionate and just future where Black and Brown people can not only survive, but thrive.

Getting more pro-equality, women, BIPOC, and working-class candidates elected to the highest offices of power and in this state -- and the nation -- is the first step towards correcting the social and political ills that plague America.

As we leave August and head into the two months leading up to Nov. 3, ENC encourages you to research and invest in platforms of our 147 endorsed candidates and plug in to support where you can. Check your voting status and make a plan to vote. Register to be a poll worker.

We all have a role to play in fighting for the soul of this nation. Will you join us?

We hope to see you out there.