May 14, 2025
An organization working largely in the South is encouraging Black women in North Carolina to become more civically engaged.
The group 1000 Women Strong is organizing in rural parts of the state and more populous counties like Durham and Wake. In 2024, the organization knocked on more than 50,000 doors in North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia and Pennsylvania.
Aja Gaddie, national outreach director for the organization, said it is focused on getting people engaged outside presidential campaigns as well.
"Our goal is to build lifelong voters and making sure that they're not just voting during a presidential election, but to understand that there's always an election," Gaddie emphasized. "There's local leadership that needs to be found and also keep accountable and what does that look like?"
The organization is hosting in-person events, including sister salons, empowerment hubs and student debt clinics. It is focusing on local politics and has an eye on national politics going forward. Currently, 1000 Women Strong is looking to engage and register between 3,000 and 5,000 Black women by the end of the year in the lead up to the midterm elections in 2026. It is also expanding its rural engagement program.
Read more: https://app.publicnewsservice.org/story/1000-women-strong/665587a7-bffd-4d77-95cc-0baa8dfc8383?