Skip to content Skip to search

Republish This Story

* Please read before republishing *

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Creative Commons license as long as you follow our republishing guidelines, which require that you credit The 19th and retain our pixel. See our full guidelines for more information.

To republish, simply copy the HTML at right, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to The 19th. Have questions? Please email [email protected].

— The Editors

Loading...

Modal Gallery

/
Sign up for our newsletter

Menu

  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships
    • From the Collection

      Changing Child Care

      Illustration of a woman feeding a baby a bottle
      • 1 in 4 parents report being fired for work interruptions due to child care breakdowns

        Chabeli Carrazana · February 2
      • Washington, D.C., offers financial relief to local child care workers

        Orion Rummler · September 20
      • As climate change worsens hurricane season in Louisiana, doulas are ensuring parents can safely feed their babies

        Jessica Kutz · May 5
    • From the Collection

      Next-Gen GOP

      Illustration of a woman riding an elephant
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • A banner year for Republican women

        Amanda Becker · November 11
      • Republican women could double representation in the U.S. House

        Amanda Becker · November 4
    • From the Collection

      On The Rise

      Illustration of three women marching
      • Can Cheri Beasley build a winning coalition in North Carolina?

        Candice Norwood · October 11
      • Los Angeles has never elected a woman mayor. Karen Bass hopes to change that.

        Nadra Nittle · September 8
      • Judge J. Michelle Childs is confirmed to D.C. appeals court

        Candice Norwood · July 20
    • From the Collection

      Pandemic Within a Pandemic

      Illustration of four people marching for Black Lives Matter with coronavirus as the backdrop
      • Some LGBTQ+ people worry that the COVID-19 vaccine will affect HIV medication. It won’t.

        Orion Rummler · November 23
      • Why are more men dying from COVID? It’s a complicated story of nature vs. nurture, researchers say

        Mariel Padilla · September 22
      • Few incarcerated women were released during COVID. The ones who remain have struggled.

        Candice Norwood · August 17
    • From the Collection

      Portraits of a Pandemic

      Illustration of a woman wearing a mask and holding up the coronavirus
      • For family caregivers, COVID is a mental health crisis in the making

        Shefali Luthra · October 8
      • A new database tracks COVID-19’s effects on sex and gender

        Shefali Luthra · September 15
      • Pregnant in a pandemic: The 'perfect storm for a crisis'

        Shefali Luthra · August 25
    • From the Collection

      The 19th Explains

      People walking from many articles to one article where they can get the context they need on an issue.
      • The 19th Explains: What we know about Brittney Griner’s case and what it took to get her home

        Candice Norwood, Katherine Gilyard · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why the Respect for Marriage Act doesn’t codify same-sex marriage rights

        Kate Sosin · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why baby formula is still hard to find months after the shortage

        Mariel Padilla · December 1
    • From the Collection

      The Electability Myth

      Illustration of three women speaking at podiums
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • Stepping in after tragedy: How political wives became widow lawmakers

        Mariel Padilla · May 24
      • Do term limits help women candidates? New York could be a new testing ground

        Barbara Rodriguez · January 11
    • From the Collection

      The Impact of Aging

      A number of older people walking down a path of information.
      • From ballroom dancing to bloodshed, the older AAPI community grapples with gun control

        Nadra Nittle, Mariel Padilla · January 27
      • 'I'm planning on working until the day I die': Older women voters are worried about the future

        Mariel Padilla · June 3
      • Climate change is forcing care workers to act as first responders

        Jessica Kutz · May 31
    • From the Collection

      Voting Rights

      A series of hands reaching for ballots.
      • Connecticut voters approved early voting. Here’s how their new secretary of state wants to make it happen.

        Barbara Rodriguez · February 13
      • Women lawmakers in Minnesota are in the vanguard of the democracy movement

        Barbara Rodriguez · February 3
      • Election workers believe in our system — and want everyone else to, too

        Barbara Rodriguez, Jennifer Gerson · November 8

    View all collections

  • Explore by Topic

    • 19th Polling
    • Abortion
    • Business & Economy
    • Caregiving
    • Coronavirus
    • Education
    • Election 2020
    • Election 2022
    • Election 2024
    • Environment & Climate
    • Health
    • Immigration
    • Inside The 19th
    • Justice
    • LGBTQ+
    • Military
    • Politics
    • Press Release
    • Race
    • Sports
    • Technology

    View All Topics

Home
  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships

We’re an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. Read our story.

The 19th Represents Summit

Don’t miss our biggest event of 2023!

Register Today

Become a member

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

Adrianne Shropshire, executive director of BlackPAC, walking with a canvasser.
(Photo courtesy of Adrianne Shropshire/BlackPAC)

Politics

Here’s where Black women political organizers are putting their energy next

After wins in Georgia, they’re looking toward races for mayor and governor — plus the Senate majority in 2022.

Errin Haines

Editor-at-large

Errin Haines portrait

Published

2021-01-16 07:00
7:00
January 16, 2021
am

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

The morning after Black voters propelled Democrats to two Senate runoff victories in Georgia, BlackPAC Executive Director Adrianne Shropshire was signing off on an invoice for polling on Black voters in the 2021 Virginia governor’s race — the organization’s next target.

After mobilizing Black voters in the 2020 cycle, particularly in rural areas, Black women organizers are on offense. They’re eyeing potential opportunities for more wins in upcoming local, state and federal campaigns where they can replicate their playbook: continuing to expand the party’s base and elect more Black women. 

“Instead of saving democracy, we’re able to focus on activating democracy on behalf of Black women,” said Shropshire, who added that BlackPAC will be working in states including Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, all of which have Senate races in 2022 that could determine the chamber’s balance of power. 

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

“Democrats have the opportunity to expand on the Senate majority in 2022,” she said. “The only way that happens is to start building the infrastructure and re-engaging voters from this cycle. We cannot let another two years go by before we start talking to those folks again. … It is as important to course correcting this nation as 2020 was.”

Black women organizers were instrumental in registering and turning out Black voters, the backbone of the Democratic Party in 2020, helping to make Joe Biden the party’s nominee last spring and propelling him to victory in November amid a deadly pandemic and voter suppression efforts. In the final weeks of 2020, they focused their efforts again on Georgia, registering and turning out even more Black voters in the state than during the general election.

Their strategy was a combination of galvanizing support in urban areas and expanding the electorate in rural areas with significant Black populations. It’s an approach Black Voters Matter co-founder LaTosha Brown said she plans to take into states including Louisiana and North Carolina this year.

Stories by experienced reporters you can trust and relate to.

Delivered directly to your inbox every weekday.

Please check your email to confirm your subscription!

Submitting…

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

“Louisiana has very similar elements to Georgia: It’s a Deep South state that isn’t red; it’s just been underinvested in,” said Brown, whose efforts during the runoff were focused on Georgia’s Black Belt and areas with a Black population of at least 30 percent. 

“Outside of New Orleans, a lot of the Black population is in rural areas throughout the parishes,” Brown pointed out. “And North Carolina’s right on the edge. It’s absolutely a purple state, and we’ve got strong partners and a strong, educated base of progressive Whites.”

Investing early, being consistent and focusing on the long game is also key, said Glynda Carr of Higher Heights, a group that backs Black women as candidates and engages them as voters and donors. 

“Stacey Abrams’ blueprint included her having an election stolen for us to get to a point where everybody was talking about voter suppression,” said Carr, referring to the Georgia Democrat’s 2018 defeat in her bid to become governor before she launched a juggernaut group, Fair Fight Action, to recruit voters and battle voter suppression.

“There’s Black women running for mayor in some of the largest cities in this country in 2021,” said Carr, citing Keisha Lance Bottoms’ reelection bid in Atlanta and candidates like political newcomer Maya Wiley in New York’s mayoral contest. “You have multiple Black women running for governor in Virginia. This is absolutely about building the bench, and we have now created the blueprint and the environment. We should never be in a space where the ascension of one Black woman leaves a vacant hole.”

Hillary Holley, the organizing director for Fair Fight, said continuing to fight voter suppression in Georgia’s current legislative session is an immediate priority for the group. The group wants to ensure that the use of mail ballots, a voting mechanism Republicans are looking to suppress through proposed legislation this year, “is a method that will remain lasting in Georgia.”

Looking ahead to 2021, Holley said municipal races across the state will be a priority, including the Atlanta mayoral contest, where Keisha Lance Bottoms — the city’s sixth consecutive Black mayor — is expected to run for reelection. In 2022, Fair Fight will have to double back to help reelect freshman Democratic senator Raphael Warnock, who will be back on the ballot in Georgia and is expected to face strong Republican opposition.

Shropshire said Black organizers and voters have proved they are ready for the political fights ahead on multiple fronts across the country.

“Black people are just so done and are at a place where we will put it all on the line. … The entirety of the community has essentially said, ‘No further,’” she said. “It’s going to take work at every level.”

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

The 19th Represents Summit

Don’t miss our biggest event of 2023!

Register Today

Become a member

Up Next

Attorney General Maura Healy standing in front of the Massachusetts State House.

Politics

‘Just because Trump goes away doesn’t mean that extremism goes away’: Massachusetts AG Maura Healey talks about threats following Capitol attack

The attorney general of Massachusetts is among the law enforcement officials preparing for potential violence at state capitals and other sites following a deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Read the Story

The 19th
The 19th is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Our stories are free to republish in accordance with these guidelines.

  • Donate
  • Newsletter
  • Events
  • Search
  • Jobs
  • Fellowships
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Community Guidelines
  • Membership
  • Membership FAQ
  • Major Gifts
  • Sponsorship
  • Privacy
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram