These Powerhouse Black Women Honed Their Craft in the California State Legislature

This Black History Month, and always, we celebrate the accomplishments of these phenomenal Black women who became leaders on issues like social justice, equity, education and more.

Dr. Shirley Weber

Before her recent appointment as California Secretary of State, Dr. Shirley Weber began her political career on the San Diego Board of Education, eventually rising to serve as board president. She was first elected to the California State Assembly in 2012, where she became a leader on issues of social justice, education, civil rights, public safety, food insecurity, protections for persons with disabilities, and voting rights.

As a legislator, she expanded the San Diego Childcare Center, played an instrumental role in passing California’s Earned Income Tax Credit, and helped pass California’s $15/hour minimum wage — among many other progressive achievements. She authored the California Act to Save Lives, which set higher standards on the use of deadly force by police, and a bill that made California the first state in the country studying and developing proposals for potential reparations for Black Americans.

Dr. Weber ran for the State Assembly after she was recruited to run for the open seat in AD 79 — by another woman, Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, who had seen Dr. Weber speak as a school board member.

Dr. Weber knows the importance of recruiting, and that’s why she’s honored Close the Gap California by closing many of our major recruiting events in person, where her clear-eyed words of guidance have never failed to motivate a new cohort of prospective candidates.

A pipeline brought Dr. Weber from the school board to the State Assembly — to making history as the first African-American Secretary of State in California.

Diane Watson

In 1978, Diane Watson became the first Black woman to serve in the California State Senate. As a Senator, she was an advocate for the needs of consumers and families, including leading California’s then-controversial anti-smoking campaign, and helped launch efforts to overhaul our welfare system.

In 2001, she ran and won a seat in the U.S. House. When she decided to retire after a nearly four decades-long career in politics, she could rest easy knowing that an accomplished Black woman was ready to take up her mantle: Then-Speaker of the California State Assembly Karen Bass was elected to replace Rep. Watson in the 33rd Congressional District.

Rep. Karen Bass

Rep. Bass is no stranger to history-making herself. At the time of her inauguration in 2004, she was the only Black woman serving in the California State Legislature! During her time in the Assembly, she was a champion for California’s most vulnerable children, improving the foster care system and directing additional funding to the child welfare system. In 2008, she was elected to serve as the 67th Speaker of the California State Assembly, becoming the first Black woman in the United States to serve as Speaker of a State Legislature.

Supervisor Holly Mitchell

Holly represented Los Angeles in the State Legislature for 9 years, first as the Assemblywoman for the 54th Assembly district and then as State Senator for the 30th Senate District. She is known as one of the most effective representatives for Los Angeles, having worked to pass nearly 70 bills as an Assemblywoman and then State Senator and the first African American to Chair the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee including:

• The #EqualityandJustice package of criminal justice reform bills and numerous reproductive justice protections.
• The CROWN Act, a ban on employer discrimination against natural hair, made national news and led to a similar bill being introduced and passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.
• State Budgets that upheld California’s social safety net for the most vulnerable, year after year, thanks to her tireless and strategic advocacy.

Her historic election to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in November made it an all-female governing body for the first time in its history!

Holly’s trajectory is a clear example of the importance of a robust pipeline. When then-Assemblywoman Karen Bass was elected to the U.S. House, Holly was ready to step into the seat. When a vacancy appeared for a Senate seat, Holly was prepared to make the jump. Today, she represents more than two million people in the nation’s largest county.

As we celebrate these history-making women, some outright unacceptable history is on the verge of repeating itself:

Half of the Black women in the California State Legislature have transitioned into new roles and there is no guarantee that new Black women will be elected to succeed them.

If we are not able to replenish the pipeline — the very same one that connects Diane Watson’s first run for public office for Los Angeles school board in 1975 to then-President-elect Biden considering Rep. Karen Bass to be his Vice President in 2020 — we risk going backward to 2001, when Rep. Bass was the only Black woman in the State Legislature.

Half of the Black women in the California State Legislature, including now-Supervisor Holly Mitchell, have transitioned into new roles, and there is no guarantee that new Black women will be elected to succeed them.

The best way to honor Black history is to invest in Black futures.

There is no equitable future for our state without Black women in leadership positions.

That’s why Close the Gap California is committed to recruiting progressive Black women to run for State Legislature, as an essential component of our campaign to achieve gender parity. There is no equal representation without Black women.

Our state needs a pipeline of diverse, talented women ready to stand up and lead — particularly today, as half of the Black women in the California State Legislature have transitioned into new roles and there is no guarantee that new Black women will be elected to succeed them.

Let’s honor this history with a brighter future and flood the field with diverse, progressive women to fill the Motherlode of 96+ open seats over the next 4 cycles!

Close the Gap California is committed to building on progressive women’s historic momentum by recruiting them statewide and achieving equality in California by 2028. Join us!

About Close the Gap California

Close the Gap California (CTGCA) is a statewide campaign launched in 2013 to close the gender gap in the California Legislature by 2028. By recruiting accomplished, progressive women in targeted districts and preparing them to launch competitive campaigns, CTGCA is changing the face of the Legislature one cycle at a time.

One in every four women in the Legislature is a CTGCA Recruit. Our Recruits are committed to reproductive justice, quality public education, and combatting poverty, and nine of 10 serving today are women of color.