Jessica Byrd

Reflective Democracy: A winning tactic for social justice

Of 42,000 elected officials, a recent study found that 90 percent are white, 71 percent are men and 65 percent are white men. The projected majority-minority population shift that will occur in the next fifty years will create a new American majority. Investment in increasing people of color representation in elected offices is a critical endeavor for securing a reflective democracy for all Americans – one in which the country benefits from the leadership and talents of people of color and is responsive to our assets and issues. Yet opening pathways for candidates of color means questioning traditional assumptions—at times overt and at times coded—that the civic participation and candidacy of people of color is primarily limited by their own motivation, ambition, or understanding of progressive policy; and that people-of-color work is a social good service and not a winning tactic for the progressive movement. We cannot continue to do it one candidate at a time, but rather need to address the structural barriers that keep this dynamic stuck where it is. In this session, we’ll discuss efforts to tackle structural barriers preventing us from having a reflective democracy — one where our leaders reflect the people they serve.