When Black Women Win, We All Win: A Conversation with Aimee Allison and Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman
Our Founder, Aimee Allison, had the pleasure of speaking with Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, the Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus of Black Women and Girls. The conversation centered around how continuing to push for progressive policies and resources that benefit Black women actually benefits all of us in the end.
what is the justice agenda?
As Founder Aimee Allison said, “The agenda for Black women and girls should be America’s agenda.” This is because of the ways Black women have historically crafted solutions to benefit Black communities into the broader community, so everyone benefits. When using lived experiences of marginalized people to determine how to best serve marginalized people, Black women are usually the closest to those experiences.
Everything we talk about in a justice agenda is an expression of love for us and our communities, for the whole.
“When women of color lead with progressive values... [we] bake equity into the very foundation of everything we build.”
How can we continue to push for policy and agendas that benefit all of us?
concrete support for black women in leadership
Black women have only had the ability to take full advantage of our citizenship rights for about 60 years. Some women that come to mind are Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman to run for president (and the first in the House of Representatives, and Carol Moseley Braun, the first Black woman elected to the Senate.
Part of the challenge now is that we are the experts on socioeconomic issues, but we also have something to contribute in areas such as foreign policy and the green economy. Black women are the most highly educated group of Americans and have leaned so far into public service and organizing—which makes us uniquely positioned to lead a justice agenda.
But first, we have to change the political culture to allow more Black women into leadership.
We are underrepresented in every level of governance, and on top of that, we are at the center of “culture war” attacks we are seeing today. The more representation we get in all aspects of government, the more we can bring to the forefront issues that affect Black women and other groups that are not talked about.
Intentional support of each other
Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman shared how, in Congress, women of color play a significant role in the allocation and prioritization of resources and support for our communities. However, with limited representation, we are unable to be fully present. This is where banding together and collaborating closely becomes crucial to furthering the justice agenda.
Intentional support also looks like getting out of our silos and having conversations that reach broader audiences with different groups of people. Spreading our message is important to save our rights, autonomy, and overall quality of life.
“We need to build a critical mass around an agenda that speaks to fairness, dignity, protection, respect, and love.”
ACTIVELY REJECTING THE DIVISIVENESS OF WHITE SUPREMACY OVER DEMOCRACY
Nearly 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence and decades of systemic injustice, including Black and Indigenous women being considered “less” than a full person, women of color have maintained an unwavering democratic faith that we can have justice and dignity for all.
White supremacy and the patriarchy will not get the last word, and women of color play a huge role in rejecting this.
However, “culture war” attacks are usually directed at Black women first. Despite the progress we’ve made over the years with representation and legislative wins, there is still pushback.
Reflecting on our Listening Tour from last year, in talking to women of color, we heard many of the same sentiments: our democracy can be built on compassion and abundance, we can reject a zero-sum politics that pits us against each other, and we can build a powerful multiracial coalition.
Reinforcing our commitment to solidarity between all women of color because love is at the heart of what we do
Looking back at history, we see how Shirley Chisholm created one of the first multiracial caucuses in New York’s State Legislature before being elected to the U.S. Congress. We see how it’s been done throughout history and seek to continue building on the legacy Black women and many other women of color have paved for us.
Congresswoman Coleman and Aimee both shared how a broad network benefits even within circles of Black women to show all the different ways we exist in society—Muslim, rural residents, Afro-Latina, transgender, mixed-race, and more. The expansive acceptance and cohesion of who Black women are, strengthen us as we build community intersectionally across different groups. This will then prepare us to respond to backlash and setbacks with power and clarity at a moment’s notice.
When we set our minds together to push for reform, we will do whatever it takes to make it happen. To us, leadership means recognizing the importance of working alongside us to contribute to systemic change—the coalition is what we need to make it happen.
We may be the targets of white supremacy but together, we represent the majority. If we continue building collective strength across all groups, nothing will stop us from protecting our democracy.
As we see more and more young Black women and girls doing their part in participating in the democratic process and organizing, it motivates and pushes us to continue fighting for more opportunities. We must cultivate an environment where young women can blossom and come into the fullness of their potential.