A fundraiser held last night for Tremaine Wright may spell a changing of the guard for a key part of Central Brooklyn. Wright, Chairwoman of Community Board 3 and owner of the Bedford Stuyvesant coffee house, Common Grounds, is laying bare her intentions to succeed longtime State Assemblywoman Annette Robinson (56th AD). If successful, Wright will join what’s becoming a solid circle of women of color taking up prominent, elected offices in Brooklyn and beyond.
There are thirteen female elected officials of color representing the county of Kings (including New York City Public Advocate Letitia James) and another woman of color, Diana Reyna, who was appointed to her borough-wide post. While the number in and of itself may not be staggering it does signal a trend and certainly signals a new set of voices.
This latest round of elections gave Roxanne Persaud, Diane Richardson and Latrice Walker offices in the state capitol. These new Assembly Members have replaced Alan Maisel, Karim Camara and William Boyland respectively. These three women and their counterparts Congress Members Nydia Velazquez and Yvette Clarke; State Senator Velmanette Montgomery; Assembly Members Maritza Davila and Rodneyse Bichotte; New York City Council Members Laurie Cumbo, Darlene Mealy and Inez Barron as well as Deputy Borough President Diana Reyna are not political neophytes.
“Women who have worked behind the scenes, for other elected officials and in their communities, have taken that leap of faith to run and because of the work that they had done and the foundation that they had laid they were successful,” said Kimberly Peeler-Allen, Co-Founder of Higher Heights, a national organization focused on mobilizing and electing black women to political office.
Walker, the first woman to represent the 55th Assembly District which includes Ocean Hill-Brownsville and parts of East New York, Bushwick and Crown Heights, says men can only empathize with the majority of her electorate, who are women, while she has the experience of being a black, working mother.
Walker says her epiphany to run for office came while working as chief of staff to Clarke, one of her mentors. “I knew we hit bottom when the male members of Congress saw pregnancy as a pre-existing condition during the negotiations for the Affordable Care Act,” she recalled.
Walker, a practicing attorney, who received her law degree from Pace University, said education also set her apart. She pointed out the only other candidate who matched her educational level was the woman who became her primary opponent, Lori Boozer, a Vassar College graduate who holds a law degree from Boston College.
Montgomery points to the breadth of experiences political and otherwise of the women who hold office today from Reyna, who held a seat on the City Council, to Cumbo who founded the popular Brooklyn art gallery, Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Art (MoCADA). Wright will bring her experience as a long time entrepreneur, attorney and community activist to the district.
“All of them have come to this business with a background different to the women who came in two decades ago. This is really a strength,” said Montgomery.
“It is important for local elected officials to represent the diversity of the City of New York,” said Cumbo as she pressed the point that issues like pay equity, paid maternity leave, reproductive rights and sexual health care would not be raised if they weren’t advanced by the people who consider them important.
“Women of color are beginning to take their seat at the decision making tables across the city. Though 13 women of color are in elected office and that is something to definitely be celebrated, until those women have substantial leadership roles within their legislative bodies and in the county organization, there is still much work to be done,” added Peeler-Allen.
According to female elected officials on the state and local levels the fight is ongoing for true recognition and parity, not only with their male colleagues but also their female counterparts. Both Walker and Montgomery admit there are no women of color in leadership positions in the State Assembly’s Women’s Caucus.
“There are issues unique to the communities we represent,” said Montgomery, “We should take the opportunity to caucus within the caucus.”
When the State’s Black and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus began considering new officers some of the newly elected women eagerly sought consideration for office only to be discouraged. Sources said one woman was told not to seek a leadership role, and was told she should run for secretary. By all accounts, none of the newly-minted male members of the caucus were discouraged.
“We’ve not accomplished all that we can and will,” said Montgomery who added there is the need to adapt to make change. “We have to organize and strategize more. We have to work together to support each other in an organized way.”
While no one is officially confirming Wright is running for the 56th Assembly seat – and both Wright and Robinson are tight lipped about a potential candidacy – others are cheering Wright on.
“Her demeanor is that of a leader, she is patient and she is professionally and politically prepared,” said Montgomery.
“I don’t know who else is running but I have a true respect for candidates who have a track record,” said Cumbo. “It’s one thing to talk about job creation and community building and it’s another thing to actually do it. She really epitomizes what I want to see in a candidate.”
