The driving force, organizers say, is the reality that many elected leaders do not serve their constituents — and so those who actually do fight for their communities’ best interests should be running for office, challenging incumbents, and blazing new trails.

The Dream Defenders, an activist organization founded in the wake of Trayvon Martin’s death, works to encourage investment in empowering traditionally marginalized communities rather than putting money and resources toward prisons and policing. They are currently running a campaign to end cash bail, arguing that it disproportionately harms those in poverty and people of color, and the group is focusing on state attorney races across the country.