The new Supermajority movement launched with a giant pink-and-orange bus criss-crossing the country to mobilize women ahead of the 2020 elections. The initiative—led by National Domestic Workers Alliance Executive Director Ai-jen Poo, former Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards, and Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza—hopes to call attention to the fact that women are the majority of organizers, donors, activists, and voters across the country, yet their political rights and interests remain under-represented, marginalized, and under attack. I joined the two-and-a-half-week tour in the fall of 2019.
From Atlanta to Las Vegas, and everywhere in between, we met women who care deeply about our country and communities—in union halls, small businesses, college campuses, and living rooms. At each stop, the tour hosted roundtable discussions, where rooms full of women gathered to talk about the most pressing issues in their lives and ways to change them for the better. Eventually, the discussions were distilled into Five Majority Rules, a collection of goals at the heart of the movement. 1. Our lives are safe. 2. Our bodies are respected. 3. Our work is valued. 4. Our families are supported. 5. Our government represents us. And there’s a Super Rule: “The lives and experiences of women—particularly women of color—are front and center in addressing all of our nation’s challenges. From climate change to immigration to criminal justice reform, the people most impacted must be at the forefront of the solutions.”
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Lara Aburamadan
On the 2020 Superhighway
Supermajority rolls into Washington, D.C., where the tour hosted Congresswomen including Ilhan Omar, Angie Craig, and Sharice Davids in discussions that turned typical voter forums on their head. Instead of candidates talking at an audience, women spoke directly to the candidates about the issues affecting their lives, submitting questions in person and on social media.
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Lara Aburamadan
On the 2020 Superhighway
Minnesota Representative Omar greets baby Leia, daughter of Supermajority Managing Director Amanda Brown Lierman during one of the D.C. events.
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Lara Aburamadan
On the 2020 Superhighway
The Supermajority team, including Poo (left), takes a break after its event in Hampton, Virginia.
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Lara Aburamadan
On the 2020 Superhighway
At the Albuquerque stop, local women leaders meet at a cafe to strategize on how to mobilize their communities and push for equality.
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Lara Aburamadan
On the 2020 Superhighway
Presidential candidates joined the Supermajority tour, including former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro, Senator Kamala Harris, and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg. At the last stop in Las Vegas, Nevada, Senator Elizabeth Warren joined Supermajority founding members Poo and Richards.
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Lara Aburamadan
On the 2020 Superhighway
At each stop, women inspired and empowered other women to change things for the better by voting, organizing, and even running for office in 2020 and beyond.