Black Women Civic Leaders in Massachusetts and Renovating Democracy

This event convenes scholars, policymakers, advocates, and emerging leaders to examine the role of Black women in sustaining and advancing democracy across the Commonwealth. Through a focused and substantive conversation, we will explore:

• Black women’s political representation in state and local government

• Labor, economic equity, and pathways to civic leadership

• Institutional barriers and the structural conditions shaping participation

• The relationship between community organizing and formal policymaking

• The future of democratic governance in Massachusetts

Join us for a forward-looking discussion about power, participation, and the enduring leadership of Black women in Massachusetts, centering their voices in the sustaining and renewal of democracy and speaking truth to power from their experiences.

This event is co-sponsored by the Women and Public Policy Program (WAPPP).

More About the Speakers:

• Courtney Henderson is a political strategist, community leader, and advocate for the youth in the South Shore area of Massachusetts. She currently serves as Board of Directors Co-President of the League of Women Voters in Massachusetts.
• Kristen L. Pope is a multi-hyphenate visionary, founder, speaker, award-winning television journalist, and multimedia strategist. Currently, she is the Associate Director of Social Media at Harvard University’s Division of Continuing Education. In 2023, Pope became the first Black person and the eighth woman elected to the Natick Select Board.
• Christine Slaughter (moderator) is a Research Fellow in the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation and an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Boston University. Christine’s research examines African American politics, with a focus on how economic inequality, gender, and psychological resources such as resilience influence the frequency and substance of African American political engagement and behavior.
• Aba Taylor is the President & CEO of the YW Boston. She has spent the last two decades engaged in social justice as an educator, facilitator, organizer, consultant, and nonprofit executive. She previously served as the Executive Director at the Brookline Community Foundation and has held leadership roles at the Astraea Foundation for Justice, the Network for Social Justice, and the Interaction Institute for Social Change.