Black women are severely underrepresented in state legislatures. It is time Black women received the recognition they deserve. Join us in this week of virtual events to shine a spotlight on Black women in state legislatures! Read the No Democracy Without Black Women report.
Monday, May 24: Sister Solidarity Day and Twitter Storm
Sister Solidarity Day: Everything looks better with a united front. We challenge Black women state legislators to join with one another and wear BLACK all day. Take a selfie, tell your story, and share it with us using #NoDemocracyWithoutBlackWomen!
Twitter Storm @ 2:00 PM ET/ 1:00 PM CT / 12:00 pm MT / 11:00 PT: Let’s take it to the tweets! Help us highlight the work of Black women by storming Twitter with likes, retweets, and posts about the Black women in your state legislature using #NoDemocracyWithoutBlackWomen! Add it to your calendar!
Tuesday, May 25: Instagram Live Interviews with Black Women Legislators
Join NOBEL Women, SiX, and our partners for our Black Women Legislator Instagram takeover! Black women legislators will go live with partner organizations to talk about the findings of the No Democracy Without Black Women Report and share their experiences as elected officials. Tune in to understand why it’s important to have Black women in legislatures, the role that representation has on policy, and what we can all do to be in solidarity with the legislators.
Join State Innovation Exchange (SiX) and National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women (NOBEL Women) for two panel discussions with Black women legislators focused on the No Democracy Without Black Women report that highlights the transformative impact and underrepresentation of Black women in state legislatures.
Elected, Now What? @ 12:00 pm ET / 11:00 am CT/ 10:00 am MT/ 9:00 am PT
A panel conversation featuring Black millennial women state legislators discussing the immediate transition once becoming an elected official and the future of policymaking in an ever-growing political landscape. Panelists include:
Tennessee State Rep. London Lamar
Tennessee State Sen. Raumesh Akbari
Georgia State Rep. Erica Thomas
Leading in the Legislature @ 1:00 pm ET/ 12:00 pm CT / 11:00 am MT / 10:00 am PT
A panel conversation featuring Black women legislators in leadership in the legislature and how to build a pipeline to more Black women leaders. Panelists include:
Speaker Adrienne Jones, Maryland House of Delegates
House Democratic Leader Karen Camper, Tennessee General Assembly
House Democratic Leader Joanna McClinton, Pennsylvania House of Representatives
We’re joining the @stateinnovation & @NOBELWomen #NoDemocracyWithoutBlackWomen Week of Action because Black women legislators deserve better representation in state legislatures
We need more Black women in the statehouse and in leadership. #NoDemocracyWithoutBlackWomen
Nobody is better suited to dismantle racism and sexism than the people who experience it daily—Black women.
Yet, too few Black women serve in state legislatures.
Learn more in @stateinnovation and @NOBELWomen1’s report. #NoDemocracyWithoutBlackWomen https://link.stateinnovation.org/NDWBW
Retweet SiX
Thread:
Nobody is better suited to dismantle structural racism and sexism than the people who experience it daily—Black women.
In Mississippi, Black women make up 19% of the state population but only 8% of the state legislature.
Explore the data in your state. #NoDemocracyWithoutBlackWomen https://link.stateinnovation.org/NDWBW
The percentage of Black women in [STATE] is XX% The percentage of Black women in the [STATE] legislature is XX%
A fair and equitable society will only be possible once Black women have seats at 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 table. #NoDemocracyWithoutBlackWomen https://link.stateinnovation.org/NDWBW
“As one of two Black women in our legislature, I face threats from people filled with racial hatred, I face erasure from my colleagues, and I face institutional racism.” — @atticascott4ky https://link.stateinnovation.org/NDWBW
“Black women helped fuel change up and down the ballot during the 2020 Election; just imagine the transformational power ‘Black Girl Magic’ can have in city councils and state legislatures.” —@RepBeatty
In the midst of a pandemic and economic recession that are having devastating consequences on Black women, the need for Black women to have decision-making power in the solutions to these crises has never been more apparent.
There remain 8 states without a single Black woman in their legislature, despite the Black population in each state ranging from 2-6%: Vermont, South Dakota, Hawaii, Arizona, Idaho, Nebraska, Montana, and North Dakota.
This is not what democracy looks like. Black women representation matters if we want real change.
Maryland Speaker Adrienne Jones talks about her historic election as the Maryland Speaker of the House, and the impact of her legislative "Black Agenda."
Senator Raumesh Akbari talks about fighting for criminal justice in the South and being the first African American chair of the Tennessee Senate Democratic Caucus.
