“I’m going to run for office!” At nine years of age, Amani determined she was going to be a change agent!
“You are never too small to make a difference.”- Greta Thunberg
The year was 2000, and the disputed presidential election was one of the closest to date. The Republican candidate George W. Bush faced off with the Democratic candidate Al Gore. The election came down to a 5-4 decision by the United States Supreme Court, ruling against a recount, and awarding Florida’s 25 electoral votes, and the presidency, to George W. Bush.
Although Amani was only nine years old, she knew that she did not like what she was seeing and she decided at that moment to do something about it. Amani told her family and peers, “I am going to run for office.”
Amani embarked on her journey by running for student government president of her elementary school. Although she didn’t win her election, she was selected to serve within the student body as a Senator. Her time serving her fellow students instilled within her a passion for service that would live on in the years to follow.
VCU Leadership
2012 was a noteworthy year for electoral politics in the City of Richmond, as both state legislative and city council seats were up for grabs. At VCU, the conversation was around youth voting and apathy but after researching and asking important questions, Amani saw that the real challenge was that voter education was not readily available to students. To solve this problem, Amani joined with a peer and started a program called Ram the Vote Coalition which included 12 student organizations, student affairs division and the VCU transportation system. Operating as a Non-Partisan organization, they registered over 600 people to vote and invited State and local representatives to speak to students about their platforms.
On election day, Ram the Vote Coalition facilitated rides to the polls to over 800 students by partnering with VCU’s transportation department. Remarking on the need for accessibility, Amani stated, “You can’t tell people to vote if they don’t have the means to get there!”
Graduate School
As Amani entered her first year of New York University’s International Education Graduate Program, she quickly noticed a lack of diversity in assigned authors and scholars presented in her International Education course.
True to her ambitious character, she partnered with a friend to form a Diversity and Inclusion Student Committee, and embedded herself within the movement for social justice on campus. Through her activism, diversity training would now become a standard requirement for all graduating students that followed.
Leadership Prince William
When Amani returned to the Prince William County area, she continued to search for leadership opportunities. She applied and was accepted into the Leadership Prince William program whose mission is – “to engage and inspire individuals, organizations and alumni to enrich the community through collaborative leadership.”
One project Amani is working on with this program is to examine the data regarding the structural racism in the county. While many may consider Prince William County to be a diverse area on paper, the area is home to many unresolved issues pertaining to life-outcome and achievement gaps.
Particularly significant among the data at Amani’s disposal highlights the inequities that exist in life expectancy rates between east and west Prince William County.
Amani’s research found that communities of color live predominantly on the eastern side so she is asking the questions, “what connection is there between this and the higher COVID-19 numbers that show as being increased in certain zip codes?” And, “is there a correlation between areas where people can work from home remotely, and those who work jobs that don’t allow them the privilege not to go to work or work remotely?” Amani noted that the eastern side of Prince William County traditionally has lower voting rates. Amani will continue her research so that she can help strengthen the core of Prince William County.
New Leaders Council
The latest path in Amani’s journey has been joining the New Leaders Council as a cohort of Virginia. The New Leaders Council provides tangible tools for leaders to pursue their leadership goals. In part their mission states – New Leaders Council (NLC) is the hub for progressive Millennial thought leadership. Soon to be the largest voting bloc in American history (~83 million voters) and possessing significant economic power, Millennials will be the generation to truly change our institutions in American society. Anchored by its six-month training program, the NLC Institute, NLC equips our leaders with the skills to run for office, manage campaigns, create start-ups and networks of thought leaders. NLC leaders take their activism back into their communities and workplaces to impact progressive change.
Amani feels that becoming a cohort of Virginia on the NLC has been her greatest achievement yet on the road to fulfilling her dream of running for office. “It’s a special feeling to do this work in my hometown, my home state in these times. Exciting things are happening in Virginia and I’m grateful for the opportunity to get involved and do my part.” Amani shared regarding this opportunity!
What’s Next?
Amani describes herself in three words: advocate, educator and connector. She looks forward to fulfilling a couple of her personal passions: 1) Create a wellness base for women of color. She states this base would include culturally competent medical professionals that can work specifically with certain challenges that exist for this demographic; and 2) Provide resources that combine traditional and holistic forms of medicine. Amani dreams about creating a community garden where people can grow their own food and educate themselves on the health benefits.
Amani also works at George Mason University in the African American studies department and is working with others to make this program more visible in the school and community.
Amani states that her childhood dream of being a Public Service agent has not changed. While she is still determining what direction she will go in, she knows that one day she will satisfy the desire from her youth to become a major player in national leadership.
We would like to congratulate Amani for the amazing work she is doing! Her passion and dedication as a leader in the community have not gone unnoticed. We support her in her journey, and we know you will too! If you would like to find out more about all the great work Amani is doing in the community, check out the link below!
