With less than a week until Election Day and early voting eclipsing 2016 numbers, Black, Indigenous, Asian and Pacific Islander, Latinx, and Muslim women will play a crucial role in determining our nation’s future. According to Aimee Allison of She the People, a national network elevating the political voice and power of women of color, “the only path to solutions that heal us as a people is with the enthusiastic support of women of color.”

The electoral power of the 63 million women of color in the United States is a mighty force that should not be overlooked. From 2016 to 2018, the voting share of women of color grew by 37 percent. There are 13.6 million more citizen voting-age (CVA) women of color than there were in 2000, compared to 6 million for their white counterparts, a 59 percent jump. And one out of every four voters in key states such as Florida, Texas, Arizona, and Georgia is a woman of color. Yet, the political power of women of color is both under-researched and underinvested in by philanthropic organizations.

If the 2020 election has become a referendum on the soul of the nation, then women of color are on the frontlines. With distinct intra-racial perspectives, histories, geographies, and lived experiences, women of color are clearly not a monolith, but they are united by a set of overarching values, and they are focused on our nation’s most important issues, such as health care, the economy and jobs, immigration, public safety, and racial justice.

Read and share Anne’s full piece on Medium here.