“Women of color, I think, are gonna lead in solving the problems for our nation,“ said Aimee Allison, founder of She the People, a national network that elevates women of color in politics, behind the scenes at 2019’s Netroots Nation, the largest conference for progressives in the country. “When women of color come into office, they're courageous and they have heart. They build solidarity and they're fiercely in defense of a justice agenda that benefits everyone.”
She the People highlights women of color on ballots across the entire country. The network is based around four main values: loving its community and others, seeking justice for everyone, making space for everyone to belong, and, lastly, making sure the American democracy functions for everyone. No small feat, obviously, but Allison is a true force.
Allison knows, however, that it’s not simply an issue of getting women of color motivated to run. Structural issues, ranging from implicit bias to lack of economic mobility, negatively impact women of color who hope to run for office. Basically: It’s easy to give lip service and encourage women of color to run for office (or apply for that promotion, or take that class, or so on), but that doesn’t mean it’s actually accessible for women of color to pursue those opportunities in real life.
That’s where networks and conferences like She the People come in, and part of why they’re so important. It’s not just talking about diversity: It’s actively working to elevate and support women of color. In the big picture, part of that means dropping money from the equation.
“We also need to take money out of politics,” Allison stresses in her Making Progress interview, “and find a way for women of color to be able to run—community people, working people—and I think those two things would do a lot for helping to advance and support women of color actually getting into office.”
Want to learn more about Allison and She the People? Check out our exclusive interview with her below, and be sure to check out the Ask Me Anything she did here at Daily Kos through Prism (where she is a senior fellow) as well.
Question 1: What difference can communities expect when women of color are elected into office?
Look at the freshman Congresswomen. When women of color come into office, they're courageous and they have heart, they build solidarity. They're fiercely in defense of a justice agenda that benefits everyone and extends the progressive movement right into the halls of Congress. The possibilities are amazing and so rich when we have those least likely to be elected but closest to the biggest problems of our country. So women of color, I think, are gonna lead in solving the problems for our nation.
Question 2: You talk about a “justice agenda” that you’re pushing forward in your work to elevate women of color in politics. Can you tell us more about that?
Women of color as elected leaders, voters, and organizers are fighting for economic, racial, social, and gender justice. It's this broad-based justice agenda which is so transformative to our government and the way that the country's policies and practices affect our communities. I think it's the commitment to making sure that everyone belongs and that we have democracy expressed and that, really, this is a politics grounded in love for our own and each other. That's the justice agenda.
Question 3: What are the structural barriers that need to be dismantled for us to elect more women of color?
In order to elect more women of color, we need to address structural barriers and it starts with which candidates we back. We need candidates from movement. We need those who are trained in organizing, who know how to expand the electorate and inspire multiracial base in order to win in the primaries.
Right now, sometimes the parties are women of color's own worst enemy. We're the most likely to face primary challenges in the Democratic Party, and so, structurally, that's where we start. We also need to take money out of politics and find a way for women of color to be able to run—community people, working people—and I think those two things would do a lot for helping to advance and support women of color actually getting into office.
Bonus Question: What advice would you give your teenage self?
Here's my advice to my teenage self. Hey Amy, in 40 years, the fact that you were an organizer and opposed the war and a lot of people supported it, the fact that you were distraught about violence in the street and a lot of people didn't work on it, the fact that you had a heart, you would cry over the pain you saw in communities… Those things would actually be the very thing that prepares you for the moment to win the White House in 2020. To support our most courageous leaders. So, I guess I would tell myself keep going, stay strong, keep your eyes on the prize. And don't negotiate away the very things that make the most difference and will will transform our country.
Want to check out more Making Progress videos? You can catch every single one over at YouTube, and look back at Daily Kos every Tuesday for a new write-up. And make sure you don’t miss these interviews on how to be a good ally to Native communities, cybersecurity in elections, and what a leading immigration advocate has to say about Donald Trump.