Bust Magazine: She The People Summit Propels Women Of Color Into Politics
It’s a historic year: a record 256 women are running for the House and Senate. Will this result in a record-breaking number of women elected? Democracy in Color president Aimee Allison believes success lies with women of color.
“[Women of color] are the most progressive block,” Allison tells BUST in a phone interview. “We have the numbers to flip states blue. We are the potential that hasn’t been previously recognized.”
Democracy in Color is a national political organization motivating what its founder, Steve Philips, coined "the New America Majority": America's progressive, multiracial voting block. Their work is comprehensive: stimulating nonvoters, organizing campaigns, lobbying for candidates.
As president of the organization, Allison's roles are manifold—public speaker, thought leader, writer. She stays busy; she's the host of the “Democracy in Color” podcast, which Ellen McGirt, editor of Fortune magazine’s raceAhead, called, "The smartest podcast on race I've found in ages. Listen and grow." In 2016, Allison organized and moderated “Women of Color: Uniting the Party, Leading the Country.” It was the first Democratic National Convention highlighting the potential women of color have to change democracy.
This Thursday ushers in the next project in Allison’s expansive vision: the inaugural She the People summit. It aims to give those women a platform. Politicians, activists, and organizers will convene in San Francisco this Thursday to connect with each other, strengthen the base, and discuss: how do women of color sustain, and harness, our newfound political momentum?
Democracy in Color describes their mission as “to win back our country from those who seek to silence our voices.” To do that, the summit is giving women, and their wide-ranging issues, a chance to be heard. The focus is those who Allison describes as politics' “Hidden Figures": the organizers, the women campaigning on the street.
She highlights Andrea Mercado, Executive Director of The New Florida Majority. Like many of She the People’s speakers, Mercado is a child of immigrants. She is rarely in the spotlight, but she is a ceaseless force for reform. While living in California, she co-founded the National Domestic Workers Alliance. That alliance propelled the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights, which passed into seven states’ laws, winning the right to overtime for 2 million people—many of whom are women.
There's a saying that “when women run, they win.” This summit, a three-year initiative, proves that when even one woman organizes and advocates, reform is possible. It’s an ambitious, unprecedented gathering. Though these are unprecedented times.