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Friend –

We are living in harrowing times. Complicated and confusing times. Times unlike any other, or so it may seem.

Recently, for our Defender newsletter, we asked six Iowans who are directly impacted to tell us why they remain determined and hopeful despite civil liberties setbacks in LGBTQ rights, access to books, voting, racial justice, and immigrant rights. Their words remind us that through these challenges, we can grow stronger, more resilient, and more focused on upholding our nation's promise of liberty and justice for all.

• Jesse Vroegh talks about how, even in the face of all the anti-transgender sentiment, he takes heart in seeing how people like him are no longer invisible and can now live openly.
• Black community activist Lori Young, one of the first Des Moines school children to be bussed back in the 1970s, talks about her optimism in moving forward in racial justice work.
• Youth librarian Jerri Heid talks about how it's the very growth in the diversity of youth literature that is prompting our current book bans and that you can remove books, but you can't shut down ideas.
• League of Women Voters leader Terese Grant reminds us of the steady expansion of voting rights ever since that organization was founded and that despite a wave of voting restrictions, we still have made tremendous progress.

The painful truth is that rights and liberties in this country have always been at risk and have always needed people like you and me – and for more than a century, the ACLU – to advance and defend.

With gratitude for your continuing help,

Mark Stringer
Pronouns: He, him, his
Executive Director, ACLU of Iowa