Folks,

Today, we pause to honor the service members who gave their lives in defense of this country. Memorial Day is a solemn reminder that the freedoms we hold dear — freedom of speech, of religion, of self-determination — have come at great cost.

Their sacrifice wasn’t made for one party or politician. It was for the promise of American democracy: that every person has equal worth, equal voice, and equal rights under the law.

At Groundwork Project, we hope to honor that promise by defending it — especially in the places where it’s most under threat.

Across Appalachia, the Deep South, and the Plains, organizers are fighting to protect the very freedoms generations of Americans have died for. They’re registering voters in counties where polling places are vanishing. They’re protecting public education from censorship and politicization. They’re defending reproductive freedom, Indigenous sovereignty, and the right to live free from violence or fear.

This Memorial Day, we remember those who served and sacrificed. We pledge to carry their legacy forward by protecting the rights and freedoms they gave everything to defend.

Thank you,

— Groundwork Project