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Know Your Power

May 10, 2021

In 2020, Courage California Institute launched Your Power Is Your Vote, an initiative to provide all Californians with trusted information to safely vote during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thousands of you, from across the state, used our resource center to navigate the voting changes and updates last year, as a result of the pandemic. And many of you used our website to register to vote, track your ballots, and get your voting questions answered. As a result, California showed up with historic voter turnout and energy. 

One of the most exciting outcomes of the 2020 election was the positive response from folks who used our resources and asked about the actions community members can take to keep this energy alive and use Your Power to enact change, year round. 

You asked, and Courage California Institute will deliver! 

The Courage California Institute team has a wealth of knowledge that we’re excited to share, to help all Californians become an empowered and effective member of our democracy. Members of our team have spent time on Capitol Hill, and in state capitols, campaigns, government, nonprofits, and nongovernment organizations. We also have decades of collective experience as intersectional activists and community organizers, and we’re excited to share our collective knowledge with you here, at our new blog! Courage California Institute’s Know Your Power blog, wouldn’t be complete without including the voices, stories, and lessons of community members like you. On occasion, Courage California Institute will spotlight guest writers, experts, and activists so you can learn from their unique experiences and perspectives, and discover opportunities. Readers can also expect guidance on how to make change “inside,” such as step-by-step instructions on how to run for various elected offices in California, as well as other useful civic-engagement how-tos.  

The pandemic has taught us many lessons, but what tops that list is the understanding that there is much work to be done before everyone in California truly has a dignified life. We must address the root causes of the pain and suffering that so many people have experienced over the past year — and continue to experience. The change we need begins with us, as voters and as Californians. When we understand where we’ve been, and the systems that govern us, we can harness our collective people power and create change. So be sure to bookmark this page, follow us on social media, and share this resource far and wide so we can get as many people as we can to show up with courage for our democracy.

With courage, we can have a democracy that is truly reflective and accountable to those it serves because we, the people, hold the power. Collectively — and not despite our differences, but because of them — we can and will push California to become a more inclusive place to call home. 

Coretta Scott King once that the fight for civil rights must be fought for and won by each generation. The Courage California Institute team has a request for you: Will you continue to show up with courage and use Your Power?