8 Black Moms Running for Office You Can Support Right Now
These mothers are fighting for working parents and racial justice, and they need your help.
Protests continue to pop up all around the country in the wake of George Floyd’s tragic death at the hand of a Minneapolis police officer, and many Americans are wondering what they can do to chip away at racial injustice. We have a suggestion: Support Black moms running for office. Even if you can't vote for these women because you're not in their districts, you can donate to their campaigns.
Not only will these powerful women fight for racial equality, but they also support measures to help working families, including paid family leave. Most importantly, they all have young children—they know what it’s like to be a working mother in America. (Many of the candidates below have been endorsed by Vote Mama, a PAC dedicated to electing progressive moms to office.) From school board to city council to governor, they are campaigning for positions where they will have an enormous impact on the families in their area. And who is better suited for that job than moms?
Shané Darby, running for 2nd District City Council in Wilmington, Delaware
Shané has been endorsed by Vote Mama.
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Shané Darby knows a little something about multitasking—she gave birth to her first daughter during winter break of her freshman year of college. She went on to earn her bachelor’s degree, serve in the Army National Guard and become a therapist in her hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, all while raising her three kids, now 12, 5 and 3 years old. She is also the founder of Black Mothers in Power, a statewide movement to decrease maternal mortality rates and improve health outcomes for Black moms. “Black babies and mothers are dying at higher rates than white babies and mothers,” she says. “This was a public health crisis before COVID and my state has not acknowledged this. Implicit bias and racism is killing us in the healthcare system.” She also plans to advocate for paid parental leave, affordable childcare, and legislation that would require companies that receive tax breaks for residential development to pay workers at least $15 per hour and hire more local residents. To prevent police abuses, she proposes community review boards with the power to hold officers accountable; body cameras with FIOA capabilities so the public has access to videos; and hiring more officers trained as social workers, alcohol and drug counselors and trauma therapists. Win or lose, she promises to keep fighting for her community. “I am a Black woman raised by Black women raising Black girls who will one day be Black women, so I have work to do for the people I love dearly.”
Melissa Watson, running for South Carolina’s 7th Congressional District
Melissa was given the Rookie Teacher of the Year Award at Baptist Hill High School.
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As a single mom of two and a high school teacher, Melissa Watson is acutely aware of what working mothers in her district need: healthcare reform, paid family leave and safe, affordable after-school programs. She supports the bipartisan Walter Scott Act, which would require states to report on officer-involved shootings, as well as the recently unveiled Justice in Policing Act, introduced in the House, which would force federal police to use body and dashboard cameras, ban chokeholds, eliminate “no-knock” police raids, make it easier to hold police liable for civil rights violations and withhold federal funds from local police forces who do not make similar reforms. Melissa is running as a Democrat against an incumbent Republican, but she’s not daunted by the odds. “I am running in a red district, but the fact that we have increased voter registrations and turnout means that we have a reasonable shot at winning,” she says. “We need 20,000 more votes than last time, and we can get those votes if we have enough funding.”
Candace was born and raised in El Paso, Texas, into a family with generations of military service.
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Have a tissue handy when you watch Candace Valenzuela’s powerful ad about her childhood, in which she recounts the time she slept in a kiddie pool outside a gas station, after her mother, an Army vet, fled domestic abuse. Candace praises her teachers for giving her a path to a college scholarship. Now, the mom of two is an educator and the first Latina and African American woman to serve on her local school board. Those credentials make her a good fit for her district, she says, which is just one reason why she’s racked up a host of endorsements from big names such as Sen. Kamala Harris. “Systemic racism will persist until we elect leaders who understand the urgency of the issues people of color face,” she says. “When I flip this majority-minority district, I will fight to overhaul our criminal justice system, end the zip code injustice that exists in public school funding and make sure every family has access to affordable healthcare.”
Kristy Sullivan, running for Shelby County, Tennessee, School Board District 4
Kristy Sullivan is a mom to two daughters.
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Kristy Sullivan is a mom who wants to stand up for moms. “Shelby County Schools is the second largest employer in the county, with more than 14,000 employees—the overwhelming majority of which are women. These women are wives and mothers, they are caretakers, caregivers and providers for their families,” she says. “As the only woman running for Shelby County School Board in District 4, I want to be elected so that I can advance policies that ensure our employees earn equitable wages, have access to affordable and high-quality healthcare and paid parental leave.” If elected, she would work to provide all middle and high school students with access to Black history curriculum that explores the history of the Civil Rights movement and examines current issues, and to provide teachers and school leaders culturally responsive teaching strategies and training. “The time is now to build children and communities that lead with love and compassion, and are not stained by inequity.”
Jennifer Carroll Foy, running for governor of Virginia
Jennifer was one of the first African American women to graduate from the Virginia Military Institute.
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As a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, Jennifer Carroll Foy has fought hard for working parents: She has introduced legislation to develop a paid family and medical leave program, sponsored a bill to raise the state minimum wage and she called on the governor to institute paid sick days when the COVID-19 pandemic first began. Now, the mom of two is running to be the country's first African American female governor. As a former Magistrate judge and public defender, she’s witnessed systemic injustice firsthand. “I quickly saw how people in my courtroom were being treated differently based on their race, economic status or zip code,” she says. “We need to eliminate mandatory minimums, get rid of three strike laws, and rein in prosecutorial discretion. We need to increase transparency in our policing systems by tracking data. We must create a special prosecution team to independently and thoroughly investigate these injustices when they occur in our Commonwealth. And, importantly, we must require our law enforcement officers to undergo racial sensitivity and de-escalation training to prevent future incidents.”
Vangie got into a severe car accident when she was 15; immediately after leaving the hospital, she got her first job.
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Any mom of six would have to be pretty organized, but Vangie Williams is also a planner by profession for a major government contractor. She supports paid family leave, as well as measures to bring racial equality to the criminal justice system, including eliminating private prisons, enforcing racial equality in sentencing and making sure that law enforcement officers who commit misconduct are held accountable. She’ll have to win the upcoming Democratic primary on June 23, but if she clinches the nomination, she feels good about her chances in this previously Republican-held district. “The two neighboring districts were in a similar position two years ago, when Abigail Spanberger and Elaine Luria—two women—defeated white male incumbents in districts that were drawn to be Republican, but where the ground has been shifting underneath them.”
Ruby Powell-Dennis, running for Tennessee House of Representatives, District 97
Ruby grew up in Louisiana, but has lived in Memphis for over a decade.
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As a mom of two and a former elementary school administrator, Ruby Powell-Dennis is passionate about getting Tennessee students and teachers the funding they need. And as someone who watched her parents struggle to afford healthcare, she’s dedicated to expanding Medicaid in her state, which would give at least 250,000 Tennesseans access to healthcare. “Because Memphis has a large number of Black people, who do not have access to quality healthcare or livable wages, the implications for ongoing health challenges post-pandemic are almost overwhelming to imagine.” Though the seat was last held by a Republican and Ruby is running as a Democrat, it’s also an open race in a diverse district, she points out. “As a mother to a little Black boy, I too want to see leadership that cares about inequality and injustice.”
Aimy lived in Japan for a while as a child.
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With five kids and a Ph.D. in education, it’s safe to say Aimy Steele knows a thing or two about teaching. She’s worked as a teacher, assistant principal and principal, and that background is a big reason why she supports measures like universal childcare and paid family leave. "As a teacher, I tried to time having my children based on when I would be out of school in the summer, and that’s not a decision moms should be forced to make." District 82 has been held by a Republican for the last 19 years, but it’s more diverse than ever before, Aimy says. "We really have a unique opportunity to take this seat this year and flip it."
The moms above are all running as Democrats or are nonpartisan. We contacted multiple Black Republican candidates, but they did not reply to us.
