From all of us at Equality North Carolina, Happy Women's History Month! We join you in celebrating the resilience and power of women from all walks of life -- particularly those helping to transform the political arena.
Throughout March, ENC is spotlighting trans women who have been elected to political office from all across America. These history-makers demonstrate not only the importance of representation in the highest offices of leadership, but the political and social progress of American culture when it comes to womanhood, visibility and the shifting tides of power.
Today, we're honoring Andrea Jenkins, the first Black openly trans woman to be elected to office in the United States. In addition to serving as the Vice-President of the Minneapolis City Council, Andrea is a writer, performance artist, poet and transgender activist.
Prior to being elected, Jenkins was well-known for working throughout Minneapolis' 8th Ward around issues of youth violence, and campaigned on creating affordable housing and raising the minimum wage. She's been an advocate and community figure throughout Minnesota for some time, even working as a historian with the Transgender Oral History Project at the University of Minnesota.
"Transgender people have been here forever, and black transgender people have been here forever," Jenkins said on the night of her win. "I'm really proud to have achieved that status, and I look forward to more trans people joining me in elected office, and all other kinds of leadership roles in our society."
Andrea's election in 2017 was only the first in an incredible wave of transgender political representation, including the election of Danica Roem in the same election cycle.
In North Carolina, Equality NC is working every day to support trans and gender-nonconforming folks to develop the skills and resources they need for public service. We're committed to supporting marginalized candidates -- particularly women of color -- who share our values when they run for public office.
Thank you for supporting our fight for a pro-equality North Carolina -- and Happy Women's History Month!
