Women of Color to honor Bass, other Black politicians

By Darlene Donloe

Contributing Writer

In what some have called “the age of Black women in politics,” there have been a number of Black female politicians holding high-profile offices of late.

In 2021, Black women became mayors in eight major American cities.

This year, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass joined that collective when she became the first Black female to hold the office in the City of Angels.

Reportedly, the number of female mayors of any race in major U.S. cities has more than tripled in the last decade, to 31 today, up from just nine in 2011, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.

While the number of Black female mayors has increased, Angela de Joseph, who founded Women of Color Roar five years ago because she wanted to “elevate and celebrate Black women politicians,” acknowledges the growth, but believes there is room for improvement.

“No Black woman has ever been elected governor,” de Joseph said. “Right now we don’t even have a Black female senator in office. We still have a lot of work to do.”

Women of Color Roar is a communications platform that gives voice to women of color. Its mission is to support, encourage and inspire young women to run for office.

On Feb. 4, de Joseph will host the fifth Women of Color Roar Breakfast 2023 with the theme Sheroes Lead.

“I’ve always wanted to pay homage to Black women politicians,” de Joseph said. “They need our support. I thought the best way for me to show my support was to hold an event to celebrate our elected officials.”

Bass, who will receive the Woman of Distinction Award, is just one of the Black female politicians slated to be feted at the event set to take place at the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation in San Diego.

“Honoring Mayor Karen Bass is a no-brainer,” said de Joseph, who applauds Black women who are engaging in democracy. “She’s fabulous, grassroots and for the people. She deserves to be the mayor. I wanted to honor her. I had to honor her.”

The event’s keynote speaker is California Secretary of State, Shirley Weber.

“She’s the most eloquent person and has the most interesting and deep things to say,” said de Joseph. “When she speaks, everyone is on the edge of their seat to listen. She’s a mind-blowing speaker.”

At the Women of Color Roar breakfast in 2020, Weber said the event was “important because it celebrates a group of women who have often been ignored in society and never been seen as powerful or significant or having much to say, and yet we know that is not the truth.”

“It is great that de Joseph puts this together and brings women together from across the spectrum,” Weber said.

This year, Women of Color Roar, taking place during Black History Month, will pay a special tribute to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Other honorees, who will receive the Woman Warrior Awards include attorney Genevieve Jones-Wright, founder of Motivation in Action and co-founder and executive director at Community Advocates for Just and Moral Governance; U.S. Rep Lauren Underwood of Illinois; and Laila Aziz, the director of Operations – Pillars of the Community.

Pillars of the Community will also receive the Champion of Justice Award.

The Changemaker Award will be presented to Donna DeBerry, president and CEO, of the County of San Diego Black Chamber of Commerce.

In 2020, county Supervisor Holly Mitchell was an honoree, and actress and activist Sheryl Lee Ralph was the keynote speaker.

“Any time you’re recognized for the work you do, particularly by my sisters, it means a great deal to me,” said Mitchell at the Women of Color Roar 2020 Breakfast. “The whole concept of roar, that’s what we have to do to make sure that we’re representing the needs of our constituents.”

While Women of Color Roar recognizes Black female elected officials, of equal importance is its encouragement of young women of color to run for office and pursue careers in public service.

To date, the organization has sponsored more than 400 high school and college-age young women to meet their elected officials and receive opportunities for internships and mentorships. The young women are referred to as future leaders.

Yvonne Elkin has worked with the Student Outreach Team for the last four years, and enjoys “getting to connect with many of these exceptional young women.”

“It has been a wonderfully rewarding experience working with the schools and organizations that nominate their future leaders to attend,” she said. “Women of Color Roar was founded to create a space where young women of color have the opportunity to see, meet and network with women leaders who look like them. For some, this may be their first exposure to seeing strong women of color who have stepped up and successfully risen to high leadership positions in public service and elected office.”

The idea to launch Women of Color Roar, said de Joseph, came after the 2017 Women’s March.

“This grew from my little idea,” she said. “I thought it would be great to celebrate Black women. Some people tried to dissuade me from putting on this event, but I felt it was important. I said, ‘no, I’m doing this.’ The first one we held was fabulous, well-attended and fun. We had 300 people there. It was amazing. This one will be amazing as well.”

The idea to include young Black women came after a visit to Washington, D.C.

“When I went to where the Congress people have their offices, there weren’t Black people working in the offices,” said de Joseph, an Emmy-nominated filmmaker and health consultant and advocate. “There were white interns working in the offices, but not Black ones. 

“At the time, interns were not paid, so you had to have someone supporting you. I thought, ‘How can someone coming from a disadvantaged household ever come to work as an intern in D.C.?’ I thought, ‘What if I created a pathway for women of color to get in the pipeline.’ I wanted them to have access and give them the tools to get in the door.”

De Joseph said it’s important to prepare the next generation to run for office, to be engaged, and to be in elected positions.

“We know we need to vote but we need to also be in elected positions,” she said. “That’s the only way we’re going to have power and that’s the only way we’re going to change things. It has to do with making the laws and being in that seat. We need more Black women. We have got to be the ones making decisions.”

De Joseph believes it’s “important for young people to thrive.”

“It’s important and it’s necessary,” she said. “We want our young Black women and our Black women politicians in office to soar. It’s our turn to roar. Women Who Roar — it motivates and it inspires.”

Darlene Donloe is a freelance reporter for Wave Newspapers who covers South Los Angeles. She can be reached at ddonloe@gmail.com.