6 (More) Badass Trailblazers in Politics and Law (2010–NOW)

Dear Badass Black Girl,

There are Black women in politics and law all over the United States, and we need to know who they are.

Here's the Badass Black Girl's last installment in the Badass Trailblazers in Politics and Law series.

Celebrate these women! They are ensuring that our voices are being heard and that sistas are able to throw their hats in the political (and legal) rings.

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2015 Loretta Lynch was the first Black woman to become US Attorney General.

"Everyone wants to be seen. Everyone wants to be heard. Everyone wants to be recognized as the person that they are and not a stereotype or an image." Loretta Lynch

2015 Paulette Brown became the first Black American woman President at the American Bar Association.

“She’s got an incredibly strong will and a backbone made of steel. Yet she has the capacity to be generous, thoughtful, gentle and gracious,” says Elaine Johnson James, a litigation partner in the Boca Raton office of Florida’s Berger Singerman.

2016 Carla Hayden became the first woman and first Black American to be the Librarian of Congress.

“Libraries are a cornerstone of democracy—where information is free and equally available to everyone. People tend to take that for granted, and they don’t realize what is at stake when that is put at risk.” Carla Hayden

2017 Andrea Jenkins became the first openly transgender person of color elected to public office in the United States.

“As an out African American trans-identified woman, I know firsthand the feeling of being marginalized, left-out, thrown under the bus. Those days are over. We don’t just want a seat at the table—we want to set the table,” she said in her speech on the night of her election.

2018 Stacey Abrams of Georgia became the first Black American woman to be a major party nominee for state governor.

2019 Ilhan Omar became the first Somali-American Muslim person to become a legislator when she is elected to Congress representing Minnesota. "This country gave us hope. This country allowed for us to develop our own identity and to create our own home. And we should not look down on the next person that is trying to do that." Ilhan Omar

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Read more in Badass Black Girl: Quotes, Questions, and Affirmations for Teens

Publishers Weekly Select Title for Young Readers ─ A Daily Dose of Inspiration for Badass Black Girls

Explore the many facets of your identity through hundreds of big and small questions. MJ Fievre tackles topics such as family and friends, school and careers, body image, and stereotypes in this journal designed for teenage girls. By reflecting on these topics, readers confront the issues that can hold them back from living their lives.

Embrace authenticity and celebrate who you are. Finding the courage to live as you are is not easy, so here’s a journal designed to help readers nurture their creativity, self-motivation, and positive self-awareness. This journal celebrates girl power and honors the strength and spirit of black girls.

Change the way you view the world. This journal provides words of encouragement that seek not just to inspire, but to ignite discussion and debate about the world. Girls, especially, are growing up in a world that tries to tell them how to look and act. MJ Fievre encourages readers to fight the flow and determine for themselves who they want to be.

Reading Badass Black Girl: Quotes, Questions, and Affirmations for Teens will help you:

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