Annie Comes Home: History belongs to ordinary people

Tuesday, September 29, 2026

History belongs to ordinary people

Hi, it's Ken Burns.

For fifty years, I've made films about America – the wars we've fought, the music we've made, the sports we’ve played, and the injustices we've overcome.

After all those years, one lesson has stayed with me: Lasting change almost always begins with ordinary people coming together.

That's why I'm writing today to ask you to make a $5 contribution to my friend Sherrod Brown's campaign for the U.S. Senate in Ohio.

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Many of my films feature well-known figures from our history. But the story is rarely theirs alone.

It belongs to the schoolteacher, the shipyard welder, the student activist – people who were determined the country they had inherited could be better, and loved it enough to set about changing it.

That is the American story. It has been built and rebuilt by ordinary people who were told to wait their turn, accept less, or stay quiet. And they refused.

Which brings me to Ohio.

Sherrod Brown has always stood with people whose names may never appear in the history books – the workers. That’s why National Republicans and their corporate backers are spending over $230 million to defeat him.

Democracy is a practice. And right now we must come together to give working people a voice in the U.S. Senate. I cannot think of anyone better than Sherrod Brown to lead that fight in Ohio.

So with the polls showing this race statistically tied, I'm personally asking: Will you donate $5 to Sherrod Brown's campaign today and help him win in Ohio and keep fighting for working families?

If you've saved payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately:

CONTRIBUTE $5 NOW