Hello! My name is Heather Fisher and here is my Blue Wave Postcard Movement story. During the summer of 2020, as the United States presidential election drew nearer, a couple social media posts about writing postcards to prospective voters caught my eye. I am not generally outspoken about my political views and had not been politically active in my community before then, however 2020 felt different. For the first time in a presidential election year since I registered to vote at 18, I lived in a part of the country that historically sided with Republican candidates and policies. I grew up in a liberal college town in California and spent a decade in New York City before moving to Texas with my husband and two young kids in 2018. For the first time, I learned I could not assume that a person’s political views were likely similar to my own even though they lived in my neighborhood or community. I began to think twice before making a comment that might be considered politically controversial, particularly as we were trying to settle into our new home and make friends.
The thought of being able to participate in getting a new, Democratic president elected to office felt more important than ever before. Writing postcards seemed like an attainable goal in my working mom life, and a perfect first step toward political engagement. I sent a few emails to friends/family members who I thought would be interested as well and as soon as I got some positive responses, the Ladies Who Letter was established! Once the first postcard kits were ordered our excitement grew. I continued to email family members, coworkers, neighbors, and friends across the country to encourage them to join in and eventually we had members of the Ladies Who Letter in 10 different states! Inspired to connect with like minded people in my own community, I joined local Democratic facebook groups in my neighborhood and posted about the Ladies Who Letter there as well. I signed up to be a polling clerk on November 2nd and got to witness democracy in action on that final day of voting. Buoyed by Biden’s victory, the Ladies Who Letter continued writing in the Flip the Senate campaigns the following weeks. By my count we wrote and sent over 20,000 postcards all together!
I am proud of the Ladies Who Letter and what we accomplished by working together. What excites me even more, however, is the spark of political action that the BWPM helped light inside me. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity and looking forward to finding more ways to work toward positive changes in my city, state, and country!
-Heather Fisher