
The opening salvo for universal suffrage predates the decades leading up to the 100th-year observance. Rewind 400 years when the first Africans were snatched from their homeland to arrive on these shores. While the record is scant, certainly they resisted enslavement. Women fought for power in governing their bodies, their voices and their choices. These nameless suffrage pioneers carried the torch for all people stripped of the most fundamental form of liberty and self-government. We build on that truth – America’s first cardinal and unrepented sin of human bondage – by redefining suffrage and herstory. This narrative honors the sacrifices and triumphs of descendants of warriors, daughters of the enslaved and rejects the notion that the color white should symbolize the suffrage movement.
The Washington Informer Charities (WIC) is the fiscal agent of Suffrage. Race. Power. Established in 1989, WIC is the nonprofit arm of the Washington Informer, a weekly community newspaper that reports on issues for and about the African American community. The Washington Informer continues the tradition of Ida B. Wells, Mary Ann Shadd Cary and legions of pioneering women journalists and publishers who waged gallant fights against slavery, lynching and discrimination, while advocating for women’s equality and universal suffrage.
Denise Rolark-Barnes, Washington Informer publisher, is past chairperson of the National Newspaper Publisher Association, which unites some 200 Black newspapers across the country. Rolark-Barnes enjoys high civic standing in Washington, D.C. and among respected national service organizations.
Patricia Ford is former executive vice-president of Service Employees International Union and a longtime labor and racial justice advocate. Her recent strides include support of the Bay Area Black Workers Center and she is a longtime board member of the Congressional Black Caucus Institute.
Jovida Hill, executive director of the Philadelphia Commission for Women and advisor to the Mayor on issues of gender and inclusion, is a former journalist and filmmaker.She has piloted Suffrage. Race. Power — Shifting the Narrative initiative as part of Philadelphia’s citywide centennial observance.
Llenda Jackson-Leslie, SRP Content Editor, enjoys more than 20 years in non-profit communications, research and advocacy, specializing in public engagement and content management. A longtime senior associate of McKinney & Associates, she currently works with the National Partnership on Women and Families.
Gwen McKinney, SRP Campaign Director and creator of the initiative, founder and president of McKinney & Associates, the first Black and woman-owned communications firm expressly dedicated to social change, is the S.R.P. creator and campaign director. She brings to the table more than 30 years as a comms strategist, advocate, writer and journalist focused on public-facing activities and collaboration.
Charlene Sinclair is a meeting designer, facilitator, trainer, and advisor for leading social change organizations. The Principal of InSinc Consulting Collective, she provides strategic and organizational development to advocacy and progressive philanthropic organizations through an intersectional approach to race, gender, and class.
Carolyn Malachi is a Grammy-nominated artist, an audio producer and engineer, and a professor in the Cathy Hughes School of Communications at Howard University. In addition to her award-winning creative work, Carolyn mixes records for independent artists and conducts research on the intersection of sound and blockchain technology.
Levi Perrin, SRP Webmaster and Content Coordinator, brings a passion for creative storytelling, progressive causes, grassroots change birthed from experience as a seventh generation South Carolinian. Levi comes to the initiative with experience in creative, digital media, and outreach and research.
Terican Gross, SRP Project Manager, brings a strong healing and social justice lens, in addition to facilitation, logistics, and project management experience, from her previous tenures at Groundswell Action Fund and Community Change. She is active in her community around themes of migration, land and food sovereignty, historical reclamation and environment.
The Washington Informer Charities (WIC) is the fiscal agent of Suffrage. Race. Power. Established in 1989, WIC is the nonprofit arm of the Washington Informer, a weekly community newspaper that reports on issues for and about the African American community. The Washington Informer continues the tradition of Ida B. Wells, Mary Ann Shadd Cary and legions of pioneering women journalists and publishers who waged gallant fights against slavery, lynching and discrimination, while advocating for women’s equality and universal suffrage.