Women of Color Mobilizing: Sistahs are Doing It for Themselves from GOTV to Running Candidates for Political Office

ABSTRACT

Pundits and scholars alike point to recent elections as evidence of a changing American electorate with women of color (WOC) at the center of creating a more diverse electorate. Similarly, we are also witnessing an increase in WOC seeking political office at all levels. We focus on the apparatuses driving increased participation of WOC in these aspects of electoral politics. We argue that much of the growth in WOC voting and running as candidates for public office stem from strategic networks of WOC-centered mobilizations working to extend democratic inclusion. We build a framework to theorize the interconnected relationships of these groups and depict the complex ecosystem of WOC formations in operation as they cultivate a more diverse electorate and candidate base simultaneously. Specifically, we focus on WOC-centered groups during the 2020 election cycle, providing a typology of political activism based upon the types of labor they contribute to the democratic process.

KEYWORDS:

• Political candidates
• voter mobilization
• elections
• political organizing
• women of color

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Christina Bejarano

Christina Bejarano is a professor of political science at Texas Woman’s University, with an appointment with their Jane Nelson Institute for Women’s Leadership. She studies the conditions under which racial/ethnic minorities and women successfully compete for U.S. electoral office, which is reflected in her book on Latina political candidates–The Latina Advantage: Gender, Race, and Political Success (University of Texas Press, 2013). Her work also focuses on how racial/ethnic minorities and women can shape or influence the current electoral environment, which is reflected in her second book–The Latino Gender Gap in U.S. Politics (Routledge Press, 2014).

Wendy Smooth

Wendy Smooth is an Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and a Chief Diversity Officer for the College of Arts and Sciences at The Ohio State University. She holds a faculty appointment as an Associate Professor of Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies and holds courtesy appointments in Political Science and the John Glenn School of Public Policy. A noted scholar of intersectionality and American politics, she is one of the foremost voices writing on the experiences of women of color as law makers in political institutions and women of color issues in public policy and her work appears in numerous academic journals. Her recent research studies girls of color and how their interest in political leadership is influenced by women role models. She regularly commentates and consults on issues impacting black women in electoral politics as voters and candidates.