For immediate release
Shoshanna Carroll | Equality NC | shoshanna@equalitync.org
Nate Fischer | Equality NC| nate@equalitync.org
Equality NC is proud to announce our second round of endorsements for elected offices across our state. We hope you take the time to review our full slate. Any endorsement process is tedious, but this year has been especially challenging amidst the redistricting cases and shifting timeline of candidate filings, and primary election schedules. We are thankful to the candidates that applied for endorsement, and for the many that interviewed with us during this process. We are also more than happy to continue this journey with our endorsed candidates in a bid to win equality for all across the state in 2022. In the spirit of transparency, we wanted to clarify what our endorsement does and does not mean.
Since 2019 our organization has sought to continuously improve our endorsement process by expanding our PAC to include voices from across the state and implementing interviews as a mandatory part of the process. The 19 PAC members represent many diverse communities, including people of color, folks from various economic backgrounds spanning an age range of 17 to 71, cisgender, non-binary, and transgender people, and individuals identifying across the spectrum of LGBTQ+ identity. We are proud of the interviews we have conducted, and the relationships we have built with both new candidates and long tenured incumbents. We are also thankful to staff, board and volunteers that have given so much of their time and consideration to conduct thorough interviews and vet candidates that we have endorsed this election cycle.
As the oldest statewide organization in the country dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights, we are proud to always stand committed to supporting out candidates, and candidates that have a history of supporting the Queer community. But that also means we listened to our community and their concerns and this year endeavored to have endorsements that encompassed more intersectional issues.
This year we know many marginalized communities are under attack, and underrepresented in our political arena. We have seen an unfortunate historic record amount of anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ legislation introduced. Legislation that strips LGBTQ+ curriculum from classrooms, removes LGBTQ+ books, bans students from sports, and targets the healthcare of trans youth, and their families. But that is not all we are concerned with. As an organization also committed to racial justice we have seen a horrific trend of attacking Black history, removing Black authors, and curriculum bans that seek to whitewash history. Additionally Black and Brown communities are facing unjust policing and also facing the removal of polling locations and voting legislation that seeks to make it harder to have their voices heard in elections.
Therefore it is our duty this election year to be intentionally intersectional and to uplift co-conspirators, and candidates that have walked the walk in their actions, votes and legislative history. In 2022 our goal is to uplift voices of collaborators that share our vision of intersectional justice over performative allyship. In our thorough endorsement process ENC has looked for candidates that align most fully with our vision for equity and justice across the state. This year we have seen our communities come under relentless attack by far-right voices, harmful laws, and bigoted agendas. Our communities are hurting, and it is our position to support candidates that understand this trauma and look for progressive ways to bring justice.
For some of you that means our endorsed slate of candidates may look different. But that is intentional. We have chosen to support and uplift candidates that have directly desired to work closely with us, that actively listen to the hurt of our marginalized communities, and that are willing to learn, dream and collaborate for a better North Carolina. What our endorsement process doesn't mean, is that we have not acknowledged the past work of candidates that are not endorsed. We understand many candidates have been allies in some areas of equality and we thank them for their continued work. But we also had a commitment to underscore the wider scope of justice that is required for equality to be the norm for everyone in North Carolina. We are excited for our slate of endorsements. We believe that this process has brought us closer in line with our mission and vision and has begun to build important relationships that will underscore change in a myriad of ways for those fighting for equality at the margins. We look forward to sharing more of our story, and our candidates over this election cycle, and hope that you enjoy the collaboration and that it inspires you to pledge to vote, and pledge to elect progressive intersectional equality focused candidates.
To find out more about our endorsement process, head here.
