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Black women have staked their claim in many male-dominated arenas with politics slowly but surely becoming a female saturated industry. With the recent election of the first woman of color to the second most powerful seat in the country, Vice President Kamala Harris is showing Black women everywhere that glass ceilings are meant to check your reflection before shattering it. As Black women continue to rise in the ranks, seats at decision-making tables are starting to consider women, women’s choices and women’s voices.
Historically, women like Fannie Lou Hamer helped to shape politics for Black women. A voting and women’s rights advocate, Hamer was also extremely active in the civil rights movement and went on to help co-found and serve as vice chair of the Freedom Democratic Party, and in 1964 represented the organization at the Democratic National Convention. Further, extending her hand to all women, not just African Americans, Hamer went on to co-found the National Women’s Political Caucus established to help all women get elected to public office.
She was unsuccessful in her runs for the United State Congress in 1964 and, later, the Mississippi State Senate, but Hamer helped lead hundreds in the south to the polls and registered Black communities to vote during a time when racist whites put practices in place to forbid voting from African Americans. In her famed 1964 speech alongside Malcolm X at a rally in the Williams Institutional CME Church in New York, Hamer expressed her disdain with asking for freedoms given under the constitution. The speech, in part, includes an infamous line associated with the civil rights activists:
“And you can always hear this long sob story: ‘You know it takes time.’ For three hundred years, we’ve given them time. And I’ve been tired so long, now I am sick and tired of being sick and tired, and we want a change.”
Along with Hamer, Black women like Shirley Chisholm began to make their rise in the political ranks. In 1968, Chisholm, already a politician and educator, became the first Black woman to be elected in the United States Congress and represented New York’s 12th congressional district for seven full terms. Chisholm further broke barriers when she became the first Black woman to run for the Democratic party’s nomination to become a candidate for President of the United States in 1972.
“We always knew we had a story to tell. We always knew that we belonged. We know that we have a position, and we have a right to be here, and we can contribute greatly to policy,” says Alisha Bell, chair for the Wayne County Commission. “We are the grassroots. We have a story that is unique, and we know we have something to give back to society and thank God we aren’t afraid to do that.”
On the shoulders of those who came before them, women such as Stacey Abrams, led thousands of Black people in Georgia to become registered to vote in the 2020 presidential election helping to cause a political upset and flipping the traditionally red state blue, can shine and make their mark. Along with Stacey Abrams, Black women in the political realm include mayors such as Keisha Lance Bottoms of Atlanta and Lori Lightfoot of Chicago, who also represents the country’s LGBT+ community, former Ohio congresswoman Marcia Fudge, who was appointed by the Biden Administration as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the first Black woman to lead that position in more than 40 years. Refocusing the party to its originality, Black women are shifting the narrative for traditional democrats.
“Often times in the Democratic party, Black women have pushed the Democratic party back to focusing on family issues and issues that matter to individuals,” says Jonathan Kinloch, Wayne County Commissioner, District 2, and the Chair for the 13th Congressional District Democratic Party Organization.
In the past, taking on positions of power seemed to be more common for Black women. As Black men typically shied away from causing political uproar for fear of retribution, Black women took to the streets and made political statements to advance their gender and their race.
“It was always viewed that Black women, for the most part, would be out supporting men. The social justice, the issues that affected the Black family, the household and the freedoms of Black folks, Black women have always been there. They have been the framework and the backbone,” says Kinloch. “It was fewer women back then who took on leaderships roles because it was thought men would be in charge, as time went on, it was the women who motivated the men.”
As Black women have continued to evolve and establish themselves as a force in politics, it is not without trial and tribulations. Only making up roughly 13 percent of the U.S. population, Black women are the minority amongst minorities. Though small in representation, Black women are continuing to envelop themselves in a career serving the people and propelling the race forward.
“Growing up in the church and accompanying my father and grandfather during protests and organizing efforts fighting against racial, social and economic injustices in Detroit and around the Nation, I gained a healthy understanding of my individual responsibility and duty to serve God through serving his people,” says Mary Sheffield, Detroit City Council President Pro Tempore. “Even though I am a legacy community leader, my flame was truly ignited by being out in our communities seeing the needs of people and what it would take to make a difference in Detroit. I knew I wanted to be a part the change that Detroit needed so I stepped up to the job.”
In Detroit, Black women have a rich history in politics. Almost single-handedly helping to win the 2020 Presidential election, Black female voters dominated the polls. The road ahead is still laced with trials, but with Black women at the helm, it will be sure to be filled with triumphs as well.
“In order to continue to move forward and achieve new milestones in Detroit and beyond, Black women have to stay the course. We must continue to fight for progressive policies around areas like affordable housing, fair wages, social equity and criminal justice reform. We must also stay active in our communities so that we are current on the changing needs and issues people face,” says Sheffield.
With the strength of ancestors deep in their bones, Black women have proven to be masters in the home, office or board room. Taking up space, enhancing the voice of not only Black women, but Black lives and doing it unapologetically is helping Black women lay the foundation for future generations.
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