Is SiX the ALEC of the Left?

We get called the “ALEC of the left” a lot. 

While it is easy shorthand for people to understand what we do, we resist that label because ALEC’s model is inherently flawed and harmful for our nation. SiX, like ALEC, focuses on state legislators because we know they are incredible agents of change. But that’s where the similarities end.

SiX exists to fill a gap in the progressive movement: helping legislators succeed after they are elected. We work side-by-side with state legislators to advance progressive policy and build people power. ALEC is a corporate-backed organization that creates model legislation to benefit conservative special interests.

Collaborating with state legislators and their communities means we don’t create model legislation. We know that legislators don’t need national organizations to parachute in and offer copycat legislation just to pick up and leave the next day.  SiX offers ongoing and personalized support; creates innovative ways to connect legislators across chambers, state lines, and with grassroots movements; and provides rapid response resources to help legislators bravely face new issues. 

There are over 7,300 state legislators in the United States, and many are part-time, paid very little (if at all), and given few resources. ALEC takes advantage of under-resourced state legislatures with a top-down approach, pushing legislation from out-of-state corporations devoid of local need or context; sometimes, bill sponsors aren’t even aware the legislation they’re voting on is an ALEC bill. For example, ALEC members drafted a model voter ID bill in 2009. By 2012, 62 different voter ID bills had been introduced—and more than half the bill sponsors were ALEC members or conference attendees.

Voter casting ballot in sitdown booth while other voters pass by in foreground
Voters cast their ballots during the New Hampshire presidential primary in Bedford, N.H. (Andrew Cline / Shutterstock)

We don’t aspire to mimic ALEC’s playbook. Instead, we use a ground-up approach to center legislators who are navigating complex situations and competing needs within their communities.

Here’s what that looks like in practice: just recently, when a state legislator approached us for help with a bill to reduce traffic stops, our team provided research on similar laws that generated cost savings and reduced disproportionate law enforcement contact for Black motorists, and connected the legislator to government officials and academic experts.

Early in 2021, we conducted a legislator training with a staffer who worked on Sen. Booker’s Justice for Black Farmers Act. The training has already sparked cross-state partnerships and the introduction of bills to create land restoration programs and impact studies.

colin lloyd hands raised colorado state capitol
Demonstrator with hands raised at Black Lives Matter rally near Colorado State Capitol (Photo by Colin Lloyd on Unsplash)

Our staff of thirty—and growing—former and current elected officials, legislative specialists, communications professionals, and organizers are doing similar work with legislators all over the country. Real progress doesn’t come from a bill mill. It comes from showing up day after day, to resource decision-makers with what they need to solve their communities’ problems.

At SiX, we do our work because we know that to improve people’s lives, we have to break the cycle of disinformation, distrust, and disenfranchisement that has made so many Americans question the results of one of the most secure elections in our nation’s history. It’s why we work side-by-side with state legislators to advance a vision of America where all people—Black, white, and brown alike—can thrive. State legislatures not only make decisions that affect the well-being of everyday Americans; they are also innovation hubs where people can come together to create solutions that ripple out and determine the future of our nation.

Bold Public Investment Is Popular and Key to Ending This Crisis

By: Azza Altiraifi, Senior Program Manager at the Groundwork Collaborative

In the year since the COVID-19 pandemic first gripped the United States, over 525,000 people have perished and millions more - disproportionately people of color, disabled people, women, and those at the intersection of these identities—are still struggling to get by. The historic scale of the economic and public health crises we’ve faced was not inevitable. It was the result of decades of austerity policies and systematic disinvestment in the public sector at local, state, and federal levels. We cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of the past. 

Over a decade of research shows that the economics of austerity are flawed, broadly unpopular, and racist. And while accelerating vaccine distribution and imminent federal fiscal aid are promising, it will take robust, sustained, and equitable public investment at state and local levels to get out of these crises and build a resilient economy that works for everyone, instead of the wealthy few.

Austerity is Racist and Economically Destabilizing


Even before the coronavirus emerged in the US, state and local budgets and tax systems were in bad shape. In the aftermath of the Great Recession, the federal government cut aid short prematurely, leading many state and local governments to pursue austerity measures to address budget shortfalls and mitigate the economic shock. States and localities eliminated public jobs, deferred necessary maintenance on critical infrastructure like roads and bridges, and shrunk social programs and services.

Group of diverse students at daycare or classroom
A racially diverse group of elementary school students in classroom

Not only did limited federal stimulus prolong the recovery from the Great Recession, but it exacerbated race and gender inequities. Consider that while the Great Recession technically ended in June 2009, it took until 2018 for Black women’s employment to fully recover. Now, with the economy plunged into crisis again, the very austerity measures implemented in the past have left states more economically vulnerable and exacerbated the financial harms faced by low-income workers and people of color

Since February 2020, states and localities have lost 1.3 million jobs. But safety-net programs such as the unemployment insurance system struggled to scale up and distribute life-sustaining benefits in the face of such precipitous job loss and economic upheaval. This is largely because federal austerity over the past decades has shifted more responsibilities to state and local governments. Further still, austerity politics at all levels of government fuel scarcity myths and racist ideas of “deservedness,” which are then used to justify shrinking benefits and imposing cumbersome administrative barriers throughout the benefits application process.

Not only do cuts to benefits programs serving low-income people disproportionately impact Black and brown workers, they reduce state economic activity overall. Lower-income people tend to put every dollar they receive in benefits back into their state and local economy, so when programs that serve low-income households are slashed, state economies correspondingly contract. 

The cumulative effects of these austerity measures and mindsets are seen in the millions of workers and families who waited months in a pandemic to access aid that was insufficient to meet their needs. And since Black and brown people are most likely to work in the hardest-hit sectors, they face the brunt of these cascading economic harms.

People-Centered Spending Will Help End This Crisis

As states face plummeting revenues and soaring investment needs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the case for implementing progressive tax systems to raise revenue is incontrovertible. The majority of pandemic job losses are concentrated among low-income workers, but largely white upper-income households continue to see their assets grow during the pandemic. If states had more progressive tax systems, they could tax those income gains at the top to shore up revenue, reverse concentrations of wealth and power, and promote greater racial and gender equity.

A drive-up food pantry in Sherman, TX
A drive-up food pantry in Sherman, Texas

Instead, many state budgets are more vulnerable, income inequality is worsened, and consequently, Black and brown workers are bearing an even heavier economic burden. On average, state tax systems take a 50% greater share of income from the poorest quintile of taxpayers than they take from the top one percent. Replacing these upside-down tax structures with progressive taxes on the highest earners can shore up budgets and create space for legislators to make meaningful investments in infrastructure, public health, green jobs, and more. And years of research have proven that in a depressed economy, increased public investment more than pays for itself in economic growth — more than $1 in growth for each $1 spent.

Recently, New Jersey passed a millionaires tax, which is a crucial step in addressing enduring racial and socioeconomic inequities within the state’s tax code. Heeding the call of advocates and economists, New Jersey’s state leadership rejected harmful and counterproductive budget cuts that would have exacerbated inequality and further eroded health and social infrastructure. Instead, they prioritized smart investments such as expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and restoring funding for an array of environmental programs.

States facing unprecedented spikes in spending due to COVID-19 and tumbling revenues can also pursue progressive taxes to balance their budgets and redistribute power and resources. And such investments are broadly popular. Polling confirms that the public opposes state budget and service cuts by wide and bipartisan margins.

Ultimately, an abundance approach to policy recognizes that people-centered spending—to restore and expand social services, revitalize key infrastructure, and build public power— is a matter of strategic investment to build a more just and equitable future. Robust public investment is broadly popular, economically sound, and necessary to advance racial justice. It’s time for state and local policies to reflect that.

Groundwork Collaborative is a research and policy advocacy organization working to advance a coherent and persuasive progressive economic worldview capable of delivering meaningful opportunity and prosperity for everyone. 

No Democracy Without Black Women

Summary

Our democracy survived the November elections and January transition of power by a thread, in large part thanks to the long-term work and advocacy of Black women—leaders like Stacey Abrams (a former state legislator herself) and the Fair Fight Action team; organizers and political strategists like Adrianne Shropshire, Tamieka Atkins, Nsé Ufot, and LaTosha Brown; state legislators like Maryland Speaker Adrienne A. Jones, Kentucky Rep. Attica Scott, Tennessee Rep. Karen D. Camper, and Georgia Rep. Sandra Scott; and Black women voters across the country who consistently turnout out in high numbers. Yet there remain too few Black women in elected office, and especially in state legislatures. 

Today, just 4.82% of state legislators are Black women (356 out of 7,383 legislators). See the data below for a state-by-state comparison.

It is crucial for Black women to be represented in state legislatures, which consider over 100,000 bills nationwide each year. The people who most intimately know the true impact of structural racism and sexism—Black women—know best how to dismantle those systems and move to a just and equitable democracy and society.

There remain too few Black women in elected office, and especially in state legislatures. Today, just 4.82 percent of state legislators are Black women.

State legislatures are the critical front lines of the policy battles to build the world we want to live in. Every day, decisions on issues ranging from reproductive justice, education, workers’ rights, health care, food and agriculture, criminal justice, democracy and voting rights, and everything in between are made in state legislatures. 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.

Demonstrators carry signs thanking Stacey Abrams and Andrea Miller at a Manhattan rally in support of the Equal Rights Amendment.
Demonstrators carry signs thanking Stacey Abrams at a Manhattan rally in support of the Equal Rights Amendment.

Black women have made significant gains in representation in elected office in recent years, yet more progress needs to be made. 

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.

States with large Black populations are not immune from under-representation either. In fact, Mississippi, the state with the highest Black population in the country, has a staggering disparity in representation—Black women make up approximately 19.36% of the population but just 7.47% of the legislature.

In Louisiana, the state with the third highest Black population in the country, Black women make up approximately 16.82% of the population but just 5.55% of the legislature—a disparity of over 3 to1.

Lasting progressive change must begin with removing the barriers of entry for Black women.

Underrepresentation creates barriers where there should be a steady flow of ideas and policy from communities to the capitol. Conversely, when Black women do serve in office, they create much-needed change. Look to Kentucky State Rep. Attica Scott, one of just two Black women in her state’s legislature, who introduced and is fighting for Breonna’s Law-—both in the streets and in the capitol. Look to Georgia State Rep. Sandra Scott who introduced a resolution to declare racism a public health crisis. Look to Maryland Speaker Adrienne Jones, the first Black and first female speaker of the Maryland House, who has rolled out the state’s first “Black Agenda,” aimed at eliminating racial gaps in health, wealth, and housing. 

Rep. Attica Scott participates in Youth led peaceful protest marching in downtown Louisville Kentucky 7/4/2020
Kentucky State Rep. Attica Scott participating in a march in downtown Louisville, Kentucky (July 2020)

Lasting progressive change must begin with removing the barriers of entry for Black women. It is also necessary for the accomplishments of Black women legislators to be recognized, for their leadership to be supported, and their policy priorities to be given the attention they deserve. Our challenge is two-fold: we must push for reform and representation. 

Only with Black women in significant seats of power and at every table where decisions are being made can our nation truly recover from the racist and sexist structures that hold all our society back and build toward a more prosperous future for all, not just the wealthy few. 

Data

Look up the data in your state

Use the dropdown tab to select a state and view the percentage of Black women in the state population and legislature.

Representation Matters: Quotes from Lawmakers

We spoke with Black women state legislators and Congresswomen about why representation in public office is so important.

"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. Despite all of this, I serve because my community deserves a racial justice champion."
Attica Scott
Kentucky State Rep. Attica Scott
Tweet
"All politics are local, so it is imperative more Black women run for public office. 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."
Congresswoman Joyce Beatty
Ohio Congresswoman Joyce Beatty
Tweet
"I stand when I need to stand, I speak up when I need to speak, and I protest when I need to protest. But most of all, I create meaningful legislation that has a positive impact on my community. Being an outspoken Black female legislator in Georgia is not an easy job but, I love it."
Rep. Sandra Scott
Georgia State Rep. Sandra Scott
Tweet
“Having worked at every level of government—community, county, state, and federal—I can unequivocally say that the work of local and state governments present the greatest opportunity to have a direct impact on the lives of our constituents. And now, with the relentless assault on voting rights in state legislatures across America, more Black women are needed in state elective offices to preserve our most precious Constitutional right.”
Congresswoman Robin L. Kelly
Illinois Congresswoman Robin L. Kelly
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“When Black women and girls see Black women rising up and being put in these positions of power, it gives them hope. We have the power to bring change to our communities and I don't take that for granted.”
Rep. Karen D. Camper e1615713628411
Tennessee Rep. Karen D. Camper
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“Black women continue to broaden the reach and impact of our state, local and federal policies that improve our communities. As Maryland’s first Black and first woman to serve as Speaker, I am also the only one to introduce a statewide plan for racial & economic justice. Diverse leadership – at every level of government – is the vehicle that drives us closer towards progress.”
Maryland Speaker Adrienne A. Jones
Maryland Speaker Adrienne A. Jones
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Legislator Database

Use the database below to search for Black women legislators in all 50 states. (Data is from March 2021.)

wdt_ID State First Name Last Name Title
1 Alabama Laura Hall Alabama Representative
2 Alabama Barbara Boyd Alabama Representative
3 Alabama Louise Alexander Alabama Representative
4 Alabama Merika Coleman Alabama Representative
5 Alabama Rolanda Hollis Alabama Representative
6 Alabama Mary Moore Alabama Representative
7 Alabama Juandalynn Givan Alabama Representative
8 Alabama TaShina Morris Alabama Representative
9 Alabama Pebblin Warren Alabama Representative
10 Alabama Adline Clarke Alabama Representative

Partners

Black Women's Roundtable
Brown Girls Guide to Politics
The 19th News
United State of Women
Young Elected Official Network
Drake Institute 
New American Leaders
Black Women's Health Imperative
Center for American Women and Politics
National Women's Law Center
Center for American Progress
Sisters Leader Sisters Vote
Not Without Black Women
EMILY's List
Higher Heights for America
Generation Progress
The Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights

Legislator Spotlight: Nebraska Sen. Megan Hunt

Top photo by Ariel Panowicz.

This interview was conducted via e-mail and has been edited for length and clarity.

How would you define what it means to be a successful state legislator? 

Success looks different for everyone because we all have limits on what we are able to do. In the short time I have as a State Senator, I will feel successful if I can use the circumstances that are handed to me to bend as much power as I can in service of our most vulnerable Nebraskans.

If you could go back in time, what’s one thing you’d do differently in your first term?

Looking back, I see that I made some beginners errors that probably could not have been avoided—types of things I just had to learn the hard way. For example, introducing a few bills without first gauging the support of key colleagues, or being unprepared for a few obvious questions in committee hearings. But on the whole, I am proud of myself. Overall, I can say with confidence and pride that I didn't leave anything on the table, that I picked my battles well, and that I did as much as I could. I balanced the firmness of my own convictions and principles with doing what's best for my district and for Nebraska. And I did this as part of a team of 49 senators plus all of our indispensable staff.

Nebraska State Senator Megan Hunt in Nebraska State Capitol wearing mask
Sen. Megan Hunt in the Nebraska State Capitol; (Photo: Sen. Megan Hunt's Facebook)

What surprised you about being a state legislator?

In Nebraska, we have the nation’s only nonpartisan unicameral legislature, which means that we have no official party identification, we have no caucuses, no majority/minority leaders, etc. I am on the far left side of the spectrum represented in the Nebraska Legislature, and I broke barriers as the first out LGBTQ+ state senator ever, as a single working parent, and as an atheist. I was really afraid that my colleagues would stereotype me or be hostile toward me because of who I am, but I was wrong. I have found every one of my colleagues amenable, willing to work with me, and I have made several close friends with colleagues who are ideologically very different from me. I think that Nebraska legislators are able to benefit from these positive relationships because of our officially nonpartisan structure. We fight, we disagree, we argue, but we do cooperate, and that’s a good thing for Nebraskans.

What was one challenge you faced as a legislator that you didn’t anticipate?

The pandemic, absolutely. When the pandemic began to reach Nebraska in March, the Legislature suspended its session, and my office started working remotely. We made the decision to pivot from our legislative work to a focus on the immediate, urgent safety needs of Nebraskans facing hunger, unemployment, and eviction. Our agenda for 2020 changed completely, from the slate of policy goals we brought into the new year, to the simple but critical objective of ensuring that Nebraskans would survive.

It was very important that our office was able to pivot from our original policy goals to the day-to-day crisis work that COVID has demanded of our elected leaders. But I certainly never expected to be in this position.

What’s your proudest moment or accomplishment?

I’m very proud of how my staff has handled the COVID-19 pandemic. We are still helping Nebraskans receive unemployment and SNAP benefits they are entitled to from the early part of the pandemic. Many of these Nebraskans have never been system-involved, and many are slipping through the cracks when trying to work with agencies to get their benefits.

Of course, I’m also taking care of my daughter, managing her virtual learning, and running a business of my own. My hat is off to all parents and educators who are dealing with balancing work, education, schooling, and all the challenges of this pandemic. It feels hard every day, but we have to be proud of everything we’ve been able to do amidst all this adversity. 

How do you stay true to your values in a political system that’s designed to uphold the status quo?

For me, it’s the easiest thing in the world. Our entire political institution—the rules, the norms, everything—was created by people who are invested in the status quo to ensure that people marginalized by the status quo will still work to maintain it. I have endeavored to not be a part of that by questioning my assumptions about what’s going on, and by having the courage or playfulness to question others’ assumptions. Why should I worry what others think of my values? I am the one who has to live with myself and sleep at night! And this is why representation in government is so important. I want different elected leaders, I want diverse elected leaders, and I want us to work together to render the status quo obsolete.

What advice would you give newly-elected state legislators as they enter their first session?

I have the approach that there is nothing sacramental about a seat in the legislature, and there is nothing intrinsically special about me that entitles me to hold one. We are just people who are holding a job. The power we have is awesome, but we make mistakes, we have motives that are good and bad, we build our little legacies if we’re lucky, and then we are term-limited or we retire or we lose reelection. I know that I am just passing through, and I have to use my time here and the power I have to make life better for other people. You can’t want this job because you think you have the answers. You have to want this job because you know we have the answers, and you want to help implement those solutions. You can’t tie all of your identity up in elective office. It’s just a channel for you to do good work. And there are many ways to do that besides holding office.

A Warning on the Gig Workers Legislation Coming to Your State

By: Terri Gerstein, Director, State and Local Enforcement Project, Harvard Labor and Worklife Program & Senior Fellow, Economic Policy Institute and Rebecca Smith; Director, Work Structures Portfolio at National Employment Law Project (NELP)

Proposition 22 was a California ballot initiative that passed in November. Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and other gig companies spent over $200 million to deprive their workers of important employment rights in exchange for a paltry package of benefits. The companies are now pushing this model in other states and legislators should be prepared to counter an aggressive and well-funded campaign.  

What’s at stake?

Gig companies want to exempt themselves from laws that every other employer has to follow—minimum wage, overtime, discrimination, unemployment insurance, paid sick time, paid family leave, workers’ compensation, and workplace safety and health—and they want to give very little in return. We are expecting legislation or ballot initiatives in at least CO, IL, MA, NJ, NY, and WA in 2021.

What are the actual facts about these drivers?

These companies have disclosed little data about who their drivers are, how many are full-time, how many hours they work, and how much money they make. One rare exception, a 2018 study from New York City, revealed: 

We also know that Black and Latino workers comprise almost 42 percent of app-based workers. Relegating them to a second tier of labor protections recreates historical racist exclusions of Black and Latino workers from basic protections.

What have courts said? 

Courts have repeatedly held that these workers are entitled to their rights as employees (five courts in three states in 2020). 

What does Proposition 22 do? 

As this New York Times op-ed explains, Prop 22 is a bad deal. It denies California’s gig workers paid sick leave, unemployment benefits, and overtime pay, allows many weekly work hours to be unpaid, offers exceedingly limited benefits, and requires a whopping 7/8 vote for any amendment. 

What can you do? 

You can fight efforts to pass similar measures in your state: 

Want more information? We will be offering a webinar in 2021, but if you’d like more information sooner, let SiX know!