Lorence Devon King: We’re fighting for justice in Pa.

No matter what we look like, where we live or how much we make, the public health and economic crisis we’re in reminds us that we’re all just human.

For years, people like me — young people, people of color, working-class people of all races — have been left behind and pitted against each other. Now we’re seeing how broken our system really is.

I was born in Pittsburgh, but my family moved to Westmoreland County due to difficult economic circumstances when I was 15. I’m 31 now, and things are worse, not better. There aren’t a lot of quality, family-sustaining jobs out here, and even fewer for Black workers, no matter how qualified we are.

Since President Trump has been in office, racism in this area has gotten so much worse, and there is a greater lack of decent jobs for African Americans.

I think there’s a sense that voters in more rural parts of Pennsylvania are all the same — white, working-class men who support Trump. Sure, there are Trump supporters here, but there are also people like me; people who are organizing for the first time for real change with people from all walks of life.

We know it will take all of us to ensure Trump doesn’t win a second termand create the longer-term change people actually need. My wife and I are doing our part in this movement. We’re working with people all over western Pennsylvania to build multiracial, member-led community organizations throughout the region that will ensure Pennsylvanians help to defeat Trump in November. But just as importantly — we’re building a movement that will still be here the day after the election.

We’re having transformational, not transactional, conversations. We are building relationships with the people we talk to, listening to them, and being vulnerable and willing to share personal stories. We know this is how we defeat Trump in 2020, but we also know that this is how we bring people into our movement for the long run.

For too long, we’ve let a powerful few divide us to pad their own profits. We are demanding that our government not only help us weather the outbreak of this virus, but set a better course for the future of all of our communities. This pandemic and the mass protests that have resulted from the way Black Americans are treated by the people who are supposed to serve and protect has shown us that we need to come together in the fight for justice and create a government for, by, and of the people.

In Westmoreland County and across Pennsylvania, we’re rewriting the rules to ensure that everyone can access the resources and care that we need. We know it’s going to take more than one election cycle to make the changes working-class people need: health care for all, an economy that works for everyone, a Green New Deal. Look out for the change we’re making on Nov. 3, and for years to come.

Lorence Devon King, of Greensburg, is a volunteer with Voice of Westmoreland.