Dissatisfied With the Number of Women of Color in Office? You Can Help Change That.
People love to underestimate me: I’m young, I’m Black, and I’m a woman.
I’m also a rarity in public office. Of the 100 largest cities in the U.S., only 19 are led by women and only 4 are led by Black women. At the federal level, women make up only 20 percent of Congress, only three of the nine Supreme Court justices are women, and, well, we all know how many women have been elected president.
Like many women in politics, my vision, talent, and motivation are constantly called into question. Instead of focusing on how effective I am, people focus on how nice I am. It’s not easy, and people sometimes ask why I do it. The short answer is this: I want to be the voice for people who don’t have one. Women of color make up 18 percent of the U.S. population (and this percentage is rapidly climbing), but they make up only 7.1 percent of Congress, 2.2 percent of 312 statewide elective executives and 6 percent of total state legislators.
I saw this imbalance growing up in Washington, D.C. It’s a fast-growing city, and for many, our growth and change is exciting—it means new jobs, internationally acclaimed restaurants, and better schools. But for some, particularly many Black Washingtonians who grew up in D.C., the change has also created new concerns about being left behind in one’s own home. Some worry that our city, a city that for more than 200 years has represented the struggles and triumphs of Black Americans, will come to represent only our struggles.
As a fifth-generation Washingtonian who has seen and lived this change, I run for office because I know that we can do more to level the playing field and because I know that I am the best person to get the job done. Instead of focusing on what people think I can’t do, I show them what I can do. Over the past two and a half years, I’ve backed up my values with actions by opening our city’s first all-boys public high school focused on empowering young men of color; investing more in affordable housing than any mayor in our city’s history; creating and implementing a plan to end homelessness in Washington, D.C. that includes closing down our massive, deteriorating family homeless shelter and replacing it with smaller, more dignified shelters throughout the city; and championing and signing into law legislation to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour so that more Washingtonians get a fair shot at success.
I run for office because when I visit schools, I frequently find myself wrapped up in the arms of young Black girls who look up at me and realize they can be anything they want to be. These girls keep me energized and motivated to continue building a brighter future for my hometown.
Today, three of my five deputy mayors and more than half of the appointees in my administration are women. I am intentional about ensuring women serve in top leadership positions because I know that women are capable of moving big ideas forward and because I want to be part of creating a world in which women in charge are the norm, not the exception.
So know that you have something to offer your community. Women of color—and all women—in politics are more frequently criticized, we are more harshly criticized, and we are more wrongly criticized, but our democracy and our communities are stronger when our voices are heard and our perspectives and experiences accounted for. The impact you have will be greater than the hurdles you overcome.
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