Dear Readers,

We are writing this letter in lieu of a feature today to let you know that NPQ will be watching the midterms for you with a human rights lens. That lens will focus on equity and inclusion and the reversal of mechanisms and narratives that have been used to exclude communities from political and economic power over generations.

In the lead-up to this election, many of us in civil society have been a part of a powerful surge of focused activism that calls together a loose but purposeful community of conscience that looks and is more representative of our increasingly diverse—and, we hope, inclusive—democracy. At the same time, we have also been rocked by the linked violence of political speech and action that seeks to hold that surge back.

So, on this day, we must use our collective voices and deploy the energy to make them heard.

And we’ll meet you back here tomorrow.