Celebrate the Success of Women Activists of Color

We recognize and celebrate the decisive role of women activists of color in the recent US elections. 

The work of women like Stacey Abrams, LaTosha Brown and many more community organizers like them has been vital to the extraordinary levels of political engagement and participation in the democratic process.

It is thanks to organizers, to volunteers and voters that Georgia will send a Black senator to Washington, DC for the first time. Rev. Raphael Warnock becomes only the 11th Black US senator in history. 

This is the result of organizers’ vision, clear-eyed strategy, ability to inspire and mobilize, and their hard work and utter belief in what was possible. It is thanks to the volunteers who trusted and sacrificed. And the voters who hoped - and who overcame intentional obstacles. 

Rev. Warnock’s election is perhaps a fitting legacy to decades of leadership of people like John Lewis, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the organizers and volunteers who worked alongside them. 

The civil rights movement fought to establish access to the political process, securing vital advances. But these have faced constant attack, and voting rights - especially those of Black voters - have been eroded. 

Despite the obstacles, organizers and activists have found ways to overcome them. In some instances they went to court and won. Along the way they have endured setbacks. But most importantly, they did not give up on Black people in Georgia. They did not stop reaching out to them, doing the daily work, year in and year out, while also trying to clear the path for them. 

Stacey Abrams and LaTosha Brown are models for long-term activism. Their hard work and hope has endured through loss and hardship to inspire, involve and mobilize literally millions of voters. They have prevailed, and in doing so inspired many more far away from the United States. 

Democracy is a process, for many it remains an ambition. We should not underestimate the inspirational effect of women activists of color overcoming such cultural, legal, and historical barriers to their political participation and leadership. 

We see their work, we celebrate their success, we want to learn from them. Their vital participation in the democratic process must see their communities’ agenda and priorities placed firmly on the political agenda.