This is the America that Showed Up
By Sarah M. Williams / Co-Founder and CEO, Propel
During the stress leading up to Election Day, I kept thinking of a story I heard recently about immigration. If you ask Americans what they think of immigration, they might call for building a wall. Yet if you ask them if they would help a newly arrived refugee family, then a huge number of us from diverse political backgrounds will offer all that we have — housing, clothing, inviting refugees into our places of worship, into our schools, and over for dinner. Over 90,000 Americans have done this in the past 12 months in communities across the country.
This is the America that showed up on Election Day. Not everywhere, of course, there were plenty of heartbreaks and many, many close calls. But, there’s clear cause for celebration. Decent and caring people chose decency and care. Voters delivered a clear rebuke of the chaos and hate, and elected pro-democracy candidates — all in key geographies that will make our 2024 elections fairer and more just.
We know it wasn’t guaranteed to happen this way. We weren’t sure who was going to show up and what America they were going to vote for. Forces inside and outside this country stir up trouble, conflict and fear, so it’s hard to hear the quiet sound of people looking out for their neighbors, helping at their kids’ schools, and caring for their families and each other. But a powerful partnership of people came together to face the noise, take action, and choose a future that cares for the majority of Americans.
And as we saw last Tuesday, every part of our big, messy, beautiful impact-driven coalition mattered to make this happen. Once again, it took all of us to help enact policies that make a real difference in people’s economic lives — and to listen and engage with voters year-round so our information would be trusted during election season. We needed creative storytelling from different audiences about all the Democrats did and stand for, the threats to democracy, and what was really at stake — despite misinformation to the contrary. Our partners did just that.
In our work, Propel prioritizes parts of this coalition that are underfunded and often ignored. Care in Action, the political arm of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, knocked on 3 million doors this election cycle. They canvassed in places like Washoe county, Nevada to get accurate information to voters in their native language and help them make plans to vote, and they are leading the fight in Georgia to allow people to vote in the Senate run-off. Investments we made years ago to support the political work of Care in Action, as well as other mobilizing organizations like MoveOn, paid off as they significantly scaled-up their operations, effectively engaging their members in this election cycle.
Young people were instrumental in making their voices heard in this election, electing the future they want — one that allows access to health care and freedom to make the right choices for themselves and their families. Win Black by A — B reached young Black men in key states with short, compelling content that spoke to their issues. NextGen drove massive turnout among young voters through innovative engagement in-person and on-line, such as providing information about voting on dating apps. New channels of sharing information got traction: Courier covered local news that resonated with people’s lives and then sent clear, fun information to voters in PA, AZ, WI, MI, NV and others. And, Equis developed and tested creative content of all kinds with Latinx voters, refining what resonates with these diverse and varied communities.
Voters showed up because partners like ours told the story of candidates fighting for decency and care for the majority of Americans, not just a few. And did this through actions that really make a difference in peoples’ lives, delivering on key promises like forgiving student debt so people can begin to build their future; community infrastructure investments like broadband access and energy efficient transportation; critical COVID-19 relief funding; and access to health care and the freedom to make decisions about their own bodies. As Elizabeth Warren wrote last week, “Americans understand that the economic well-being of families is inextricably linked to democracy and to individual rights.” There is so much more we can do to deliver for families — paid leave, support for child care, and making corporations and billionaires pay their fair share of taxes. We should be unified in getting right to it.
I’m not sweeping under the rug the myriad of structural challenges that need fixing in America. America is what all of us make of it — those of us who came here, were brought here, and were here long before; those whose ancestors inflicted cruelty; and those who’ve helped America achieve its promise. You may find all of that in one family, in one neighborhood, and in one electorate. Over and over again, “America” is up to us. And this midterm election season — through hard work, investment, and belief in what is possible — we brought the promise of America a bit closer.
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Sarah M. Williams is Co-Founder and CEO of Propel, which invests in innovators, change-makers, and entrepreneurs building a democracy and economy that works for the many, not the few. Propel’s work includes the Propel Democracy Forward Fund, a charitable fund that helps strengthen democracy. She was named one of Inside Philanthropy’s 100 Power Players in 2021.
