Purpose
Ensuring long-term political leadership for Black women is crucial for several key reasons:
- The need for long-term Black women’s political leadership is urgent and essential for creating a more just and equitable society. Black women have historically been at the forefront of social and political movements, driving change and advocating for the rights of marginalized communities. However, our leadership is often underrecognized, underfunded, and underrepresented politically.
- Sustained Black woman leadership allows for developing and implementing comprehensive strategies that reform deep-rooted issues such as criminal justice, healthcare, education, and economic opportunity, where Black women and men are disproportionately affected.
- Long-term leadership enables Black women to build and consolidate political power, which is essential for driving lasting change. By cultivating a pipeline of Black women leaders at all levels of government and community—local, state, and national—there is a greater chance of creating systemic changes beyond any single election cycle. This approach also helps to ensure that Black women’s voices remain influential in shaping our state, cities, counties, school systems, and nation.
Change requires two things: organized money and organized people. Participating through public leadership and donating are two ways to take ownership of the change we want.
- If change is going to happen, we must create the conditions for it. We must envision a multiracial democracy and a caring economy and be willing to work together to achieve it.
- We need to actively participate in identifying what we, our families, and our communities need to create the opportunities and conditions for recovery from the lasting impact of systemic racism and purposeful discrimination. By building long-term Black women’s political leadership, we can shape a future that reflects our values and meets our needs.
- Our faith and our ancestors call us to this new, people-centered politics. This year, let’s engage deeply and meaningfully in the political process to elect a State House, local leaders, and a President who will co-create a fair and just future with us. Becoming a WGH Democracy Builder is the next step in building the communities, Minnesota, and nation we have longed for.