WE:
FOSTER CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
BUILD CONSISTENCY IN OUR COMMUNITIES
KEEP THOSE IN AUTHORITY ACCOUNTABLE TO THE PEOPLE
CREATE POLICY FOR OUR COMMUNITIES
HOLD CONVERSATIONS
PREPARE FOR WHAT'S NEXT
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to empower Black women across the country and mobilize them for action.
We are working to create a future – and an America – that is informed by the experiences and expertise of Black women.
Through rapid response messaging, issue advocacy and electoral mobilization, we are working across the U.S. to build community and political power for the long haul.
We recruit, train and support grassroots community efforts year-round, giving them the room to sustain and grow their networks for the long haul.
We have in-state organizers in Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida and Michigan who are mobilizing voters around student debt forgiveness, midterm elections, general elections and more.
Through Peer2Peer contact, field organizing, digital outreach and relational organizing, we have engaged one million Black women since 2020 on a range of issues that impact them.
1K Women Strong Inc. is working at the intersection of politics and communal care.
1K Women Strong Inc. was founded by Shakya Cherry-Donaldson, evolving from her field work with Stacey Abrams, Deval Patrick, and other grassroots leaders, to build the “beloved community.”
OUR WINNING CAMPAIGNS
2022 State Outreach
Our organizers build relationships to mobilize our base in key regions throughout various states and territories. We saw this in the 2022 midterm elections with strong turnout in our focus regions: Northeastern Texas, Southwest Georgia, Western Pennsylvania, Central Virginia, Southeast Michigan, Rural North Carolina and Central Florida. A key part of our strategy is identifying local talent and training them to be leaders within the organization. Being in partnership with new and seasoned organizers from the community is crucial to grassroots efforts between neighbors — and 1000 Women Strong’s consistent growth.
Our comprehensive directory of who, what, where, and how Black women are organizing in their respective communities and building foundational relationships is crucial to future campaigns and initiatives.
The Georgia Senate Runoff
As the only voter advocacy organization in rural Georgia during the 2022 Georgia Senate Runoff election, we were able to knock on doors, make phone calls, deploy digital resources, and reach often overlooked populations of voters who were able to make their voices heard in a crucial election.
Through these efforts, we reached more than 100,000 voters in just four weeks. This was a victory shared by the entire 1000 Women Strong network, and only made possible through strategic Get Out the Vote field and digital work.
Student Loan Debt
In 2021, we launched our national Cancel Student Loan Debt: Build Black Women's Futures campaign with the National ACLU, amplifying the disproportionate effects on Black women and urging the Biden Administration to cancel $50K in debt for eligible borrowers. We hosted student loan debt webinars featuring our very own Executive Director Shayka Cherry-Donaldson and Black women elected officials including: Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA), Wayne County Commission Chair Alisha Bell (MI), Philadelphia Councilmember Kendra Brooks (PA), State House Delegate Marcia Price (VA), State Representative CaMia Jackson (GA), Denise D. Adams, Mayor Pro Tempore (NC). Over 50 national and regional listening sessions were held weekly in communities across the country, with more than 6,000 registered participants.
In-person events focused on gathering Black women and their larger communities around this issue. Organizers partnered with state and local organizations on collaborative outreach events, culminating in 49 events across 14 states. More than 4,000 rally signs and 11,000 palm cards were distributed, with more than 100,000 texts sent through a multi-state texting campaign to more than 60,000 contacts. We identified hundreds of volunteers, empowered those affected to share their stories in the press, and more. (Read our Impact Report here.)
Since then, we achieved a major win with President Biden and his administration stepping up to relieve Americans of debt in 2022. This is much-needed help to bolster the economic strength of our country and that of our communities, which are still in the midst of terrible inflation and a long road to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. We continue to push for action on the federal level to ensure that political efforts to deny relief are dismissed.
New York City Voter Education Campaign
One of the major impediments to civic engagement is a lack of education. To tackle this issue, we carried out the Ranked-Choice Voting education campaign ahead of the New York City primaries in 2021. Our team was on the ground in New York City helping to educate voters on the new voting system. In partnership with Ranked Choice NYC and in coalition with 250 organizations throughout the city, we are proud to say that 1.1 million New Yorkers voted in the June 22nd primary, making history!
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Why do you do this work? ⬇️Because there is too much at stake not to. Black women have always been at the forefront of every American social movement, and they continue to lead the way. In the face of various challenges – voter suppression, anti-choice movement, crippling student debt and more – 1000 Women Strong is a national organizing hub that helps Black women reclaim their power with resources, training and mobilization, so they can have an impact on the issues that affect their lives.
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How do you organize? ⬇️We are unique: we are on the ground, 365 days a year, to build the Beloved Community. We invest in people first to ensure sustained, strong connections on the ground in various regions, states and communities. We reject “parachute politics” in favor of real, scalable results.
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What are you focused on right now? ⬇️Reproductive justice. Food insecurity. Paid Family and Medical Leave. Environmental justice. The cancellation of student debt. Elections. (Learn about our Seven-State Strategy.) Local community work.
OUR PARTNERS
We have worked with dozens of like-minded organizations, individuals and entities to push our priorities forward and equip our communities with the tools they need to make their voices heard.
