So many have stepped in to support the health of our communities and our democracy this year.

1. Public health organizations, their leaders, and their frontline staff
   Public health organizations from coast to coast mounted incredible efforts to slow the transmission of the coronavirus, saving untold numbers of lives. They issued and explained public health guidelines, set up testing programs, gathered data, and designed systems for tracing contacts. They championed improved data to help everyone understand and better address the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on people of color. They insisted on science and evidence as their guiding star even under intense pressure, including harassment, threats, and termination. And even as COVID-19 is surging around the country, they continue to stand up for our health and safety. Underfunded for years, they have shown us the importance of having a well-funded public health system to safeguard equitable health and safety.
    
2. Essential workers
   While most of us were told to stay at home to keep ourselves and our communities safe, essential workers were told to do just the opposite—they had to go to work. Healthcare workers—not just doctors, nurses, and respiratory therapists but also food service workers, janitors, and others—exposed themselves to COVID-19 day after day to care for people who were infected with the virus, dealing with the physical dangers of their jobs as well as the emotional anguish of seeing so many people lose their lives without their loved ones at their sides. Other essential workers kept our daily lives intact: keeping public transportation running, caring for people in nursing homes, working at grocery stores and pharmacies, growing and harvesting food, teaching kids, counting the census, and making deliveries. These workers have selflessly put themselves in harm’s way even though many are paid low wages and don’t have basic protections like health insurance and paid sick leave. From them, we have truly been reminded that so many people have a hand in our health, safety, and wellbeing.
    
3. Racial justice organizers, activists, and supporters
   This year’s massive, multiracial, multi-generational uprising against systemic racism didn’t come out of nowhere. It was built upon the foundation that Black-led organizations laid over the course of many years by making the case that police violence is not just about rotten apples in police departments but about a system of oppression that runs through criminal justice, education, healthcare, housing, finance and development, planning, and beyond. Thanks to the courageous efforts of these organizers, the outrage that was sparked by the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor by the police and by white supremacists was channeled into a vibrant and diverse movement for racial justice. We are grateful to those who year after year have demanded that systems and institutions respect Black lives. Their efforts have awakened many to a history of injustice in this country and have furthered the movement to address structural racism and reimagine community safety in ways that were previously unimaginable.
    
4. Community-based organizations that pivoted to meet the moment—and their communities
   When community-based organizations that normally focus on things like preventing gun violence or supporting community mental health found themselves confronted by a global pandemic, they shifted gears to meet their communities’ urgent needs—like distributing meals to kids who were missing out on free school lunches and campaigning to stop evictions and power shut-offs. Organizations whose primary work had been connecting people with each other through in-person gatherings shifted to creating community via Zoom. And community outreach workers who previously led conversations about violence prevention started to also distribute masks and health information as well as to check in on people who were homebound. Meanwhile, these organizations redoubled their efforts to prevent violence and promote mental health, as the need for these interventions has spiked. These efforts underscore the strength of communities and the reality that important solutions come out of communities themselves.
    
5. Those who kept the elections safe and our democracy healthy
   This year, democracy and voting rights advocates stepped up their efforts like never before: expanding access to safe voting options like mail-in voting, urging young people to become poll workers (which many did), advocating for early voting, and taking the fight to the courts when voting rights came under attack. Others knocked on doors, outreached through text and phone calls, and found ways to help ensure people could exercise their right to vote. Thanks to the efforts of so many, millions of people in the United States were able to exercise their right to vote without having to risk their health. In fact, in the middle of a pandemic, more people turned out to vote in the 2020 elections than at any time in the last 100 years. All these efforts remind us that our democracy is fragile, and we must always fight for it.