Listening to that voicemail made my skin crawl. I wasn't surprised. Racism has always been alive and well, it's just become more anonymous lately and brushed under the rug. As the investigation moves forward, I want to extend my support to Sheriff Kamara and every elected official who has faced racism.

I'm not unfamiliar with bigotry myself. I don't believe racism is "over" just because the country elected a Black President in 2008, or because many of today's local and statewide officials come from diverse backgrounds.

As elected officials, we're often told "this is what you sign up for." I respectfully disagree. Death threats should never be part of anyone’s job description. Recently, the man who left that voicemail has been arrested. My hope is that it never happens to anyone else. In the meantime, I'm left having to mentally prepare myself and think through my own security, just in case it happens to me as well. I feel safe in my community, but I never feel 100% safe as a Black woman in a country that's grown more hostile to diversity, to anyone who speaks out against racism, and honestly, to anyone just trying to exist.

My message to anyone thinking about running for office: do it. There's power in numbers, and this is how we fight back against hate together. To those who don't want to run because of political violence and threats, I understand and I don't blame you. I want to be a line of support for you too.

Community over chaos, always.