The House passed HR1 -- the For the People Act -- a once-in-a-generation democracy reform package to clean up our political system, expand and protect voting rights, get big money out of politics, hold elected officials accountable for corruption, and create a democracy that values the voices of all Americans.

The bill now goes to the Senate where Democrats hold a majority and should pass these necessary measures. There’s just one problem -- the FILIBUSTER.

Because of the filibuster, Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans can exercise a veto in the U.S. Senate to block most legislation Democrats attempt to pass. What we have right now is a tyranny of the minority.

The filibuster is an archaic rule that doesn’t exist in the Constitution or in state governments and allows just 41 senators (who could represent as few as 11.1% of Americans) to block most legislation -- giving a minority of senators total power over which bills Congress can pass.

This is entirely undemocratic.

This is also another blatant example of the Republican party attempting to disenfranchise marginalized Americans, exploiting the filibuster as a Jim Crow tool to repeatedly undermine adoption of measures supported by majorities to protect and advance the rights of Black Americans for much of Senate history. The filibuster's past and present is racist.

Senate Democrats have the power to eliminate the filibuster if they all band together. And yet, there is in-party push back from some who continue to ignore their constituents, and, instead, stand with the white supremacist Republican Party that is fighting to keep whole communities of color disenfranchised.

If we are going to pass any meaningful legislation on racial justice, the climate crisis, universal background checks for gun purchases, pay equity, protections for people with pre-existing health conditions, or restoring power to the people over big corporations and billionaires, we must first eliminate the filibuster.