As I write this, I cannot assume anything about the election outcome, so I would rather focus on what is happening regardless of who wins the presidency.
The women inspiring me the most these days are Black feminists. I have been involved in both the Women’s March and the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) in recent years. During the pandemic, these organizations have hosted a slew of Zoom events, and I learn much each time I participate. The M4BL hosted the Black National Convention on Aug. 28. You can watch the entire convention on YouTube. It was held on the same day as the historic 1963 March on Washington, and it was the first such gathering since 1972. It is an incredibly inspiring multigenerational, intersectional conference. I was so captivated that the nearly six hours of viewing time seemed to fly by.
Regardless of the election outcome, and the ensuing months of challenges wrought by the pandemic and sociopolitical issues, Black feminists are laying a determined path to gender, racial, environmental, immigrant, voting and economic justice. They are working to make transparent and to dismantle institutional racism in the entire justice system including today’s form of slavery — mass incarceration. They understand the long game.
Every time I participate in an event, these leaders clearly convey that there is no quick fix and that they are willing to walk the long road to justice. They invoke their antecedents — Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Baker, Jo Ann Robinson, Audre Lorde — and many others who paved the path and inspired them to make their passion for justice their careers. They see political power as getting people into office who they can work with regardless of how imperfect such candidates may be. They are both practical and insistent. I am in such awe that I pledge to serve and support their work for the rest of my political life. I defer to their initiatives, intersectional practices and their inherited, learned and organic intellect.
Paris Hatcher is the founder and director of Black Feminist Future (BFF). The organization engages Black women and girls in community organizing and empowerment. Hatcher argues that the blueprint for liberation lies in the social and political power of Black women. She and her team refer to the Combahee River Collective Statement of 1977. It was created by a group of Black feminists who co-wrote this manifesto to describe their challenges and commitment to intersectional justice. The last line is, “As Black feminists and lesbians we know we have a very definite revolutionary task to perform and we are ready for the lifetime of work and struggle before us.”
Hillary Holley directs Fair Fight Action in Georgia. She worked on Stacey Abrams’ campaign for governor, and in its aftermath, she agreed to work with Abrams to help get officials elected who support voting rights and progressive values. They have worked to get 800,000 new voters enrolled in Georgia.
Alicia Garza co-founded the Black Lives Matter movement and inspired the M4BL. Notably, she advocates for a bottom-up leadership model in the manner of Ella Baker. She identifies as queer. Personally, I love that she endorsed Elizabeth Warren for president.
Olka Baldeh is an environmental justice and anti-police brutality activist. She is the communications manager for the Essie Justice Group. The organization is comprised of women with incarcerated loved ones, and they are committed to ending the racist inequalities of mass incarceration. They describe themselves as fierce advocates for race and gender justice.
Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson is the first Black woman to co-direct the Highlander Research and Education Center. In 1932, it was founded in Tennessee as the Highlander Folk School by Myles Horton, a white man influenced by Jane Addams and the progressive folk school movement in Denmark. In the early years, the school helped to train union organizers and to fight segregation. It was a crucial organizing and training force during the civil rights movement.
These are just a few of the committed leader/activists who motivate me. We are fighting for current solutions, and we are also assigned the responsibility of working to create justice for future generations. Gloria Steinem has remarked that she’s never seen anything like this over the span of her long life: “I just had to wait for some of my friends to be born.”
Barbara Smith is a renowned Black lesbian feminist educator and writer who co-authored the Combahee River Collective Statement. She is part of the M4BL today, and I imagine it must also be exhilarating for her to see some of her lifetime of work realized through the efforts and accomplishments of young Black feminist leaders.
J.M. Sorrell is a social justice activist, anti-racism trainer and health care advocate.