Op-ed: Racist Graffiti on Angela Alsobrooks’ Campaign Sign Is a Reminder of the Threats Black Women in Politics Face

Excerpted from Racist Graffiti on Angela Alsobrooks’ Campaign Sign Is a Reminder of the Threats Black Women in Politics Face, by Representwomen's Cynthia Richie Terrell and Marvelous Maeze, published on Ms. magazine:

The recent defacement of Maryland U.S. Senate Democratic candidate Angela Alsobrooks’ campaign sign with hateful and threatening messages highlights the persistent racism and abuse that women—especially Black women—endure when seeking to run, win, serve and lead in our politics. Such acts, including the brandishing of “KKK” by vandals and a target drawn on her forehead, assault both individual dignity and democratic principles.

In our work with women political leaders, we repeatedly hear about increasing personal threats and toxicity at every level of government. As cited recently by Rob Richie in the Washington Post, CivicPulse found that about half of our local leaders experience hostility relating to their service at least once a month. At the same time, Princeton University’s “Bridging Divides Initiative” reports that 1 in 6 have been threatened. A comprehensive 2023 report on political violence in the United States by Protect Democracy and Johns Hopkins’ The Agora Institute found that “women and people of color are disproportionately targeted—and there is some evidence that this leads them to ‘opt-out’ of visible public service roles in the first place.”

The heinous act against a prominent politician shows that threats of violence are an all too real reality, in particular for Black women. Angela Alsobrooks and all Black women in politics deserve our support and respect as they serve their communities. At RepresentWomen, we are committed to uncovering the obstacles faced by Black women in politics through assiduously researching how system reforms can result in solutions to increase their representation in government.

Read the complete article here.

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