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After co-hosting a reception for Black women elected officials last week with Vice President Kamala Harris, Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, said there are “no words” to describe the experience she had.
“There are no words,” Givan told APR. “And I’m not just saying that because it sounds like a cliche but there are no words to explain the experience that I had.”
The reception is the first of its kind to recognize Black women elected leaders across the country. The event was held in Washington D.C. at the Vice President’s residence and co-hosted by Givan’s organization National Organization of Black Elected Leaders, (NOBEL), Harris and the Higher Heights organization. Givan serves as National President of Nobel Women.
In attendance at the event were over 250 women.
Givan gave a speech during the event referencing the historical contributions of Black women up until the present. Givan said “it took a Black woman” in several examples to stand up and take action in the country.
“Since 1928, when Minnie Buckingham Harper set the standard by becoming the first Black woman elected to any state legislature, we have been no stranger to leadership,” Givan said. “Because we know that if you want action and if we want something done right, it takes a Black woman.”
Givan named a list of Black women and their respective actions to support her statement. The list included historical figures such as Harriet Tubman, Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks and Shirley Chisholm. Givan also named two current women and their contributions being Fani Willis and Harris.
State Rep. Juandalynn Givan co-hosts a reception for Black women elected officials last week with Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Since the days of Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman to Ida B. Wells-Barnett and Mary McLeod Bethune we are the hopes and dreams of the enslave people brought to this country in the year 1619,” Givan said. “Since that time, Black women have fought tirelessly for freedom and equality not just for ourselves but for others in and around our communities. From Dorothy Irene Height to Shirley Chisholm, no one can argue that Black women have been the foundation of progressive and necessary change in our nation.”
Harris made comments about Givan that the Alabama representative said almost brought her, “all the way down.”
“I see Juandalynn everywhere and always being such a source of the passion and the fire that we know we must always bring,” Harris said.
Harris also said that Givan brings a spirit of, “ambition” and “conviction” to her work with NOBEL that she encourages young women to have.
“You be proud to have ambition and you lead with conviction,” Harris said. “And Juandalynn that’s the kind of spirit you always bring with NOBEL to that work that you do can we hear it for NOBEL please.”
Givan told APR how special it was for her being a Black woman from an, “obscure” place in Alabama. Givan said that she felt she was representing Alabama as a whole and wished that there was more bi-partisan support for her that day as she felt it was a big moment for the state.
