When Emilia Sykes became an Ohio legislator, she had trouble getting in the statehouse. Security often searched & questioned her while white lobbyists & aides walked in freely. One day she asked the officer why he wouldn’t let her in. “You don’t look like a state legislator.”
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Sykes always knew representation matters. Growing up as a dancer, she saw the diverse bodies of the Alvin Ailey troupe, letting her know she could grace the stage too. But in the portraits lining the halls of Ohio's statehouse, it was clear white men had long held that space.
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But now, as the House minority leader of the most diverse Democratic caucus in Ohio history, Sykes is leading the agenda, helping pass more bills in her first year than were passed in the previous two sessions combined.
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Sykes launched a movement demanding #WeBelongHere to elevate Black women’s voices in the halls of power. She helped form the nation’s first state-level Black Maternal Health Caucus and sponsored a bill to compensate Ohioans who have been wrongfully imprisoned.
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She earned bipartisan praise for passing legislation to help victims of dating violence, an issue she’s worked on since law school. Last year, Sykes was honored for her leadership with @emilyslist's Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award.
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@emilyslist Sykes draws her inspiration from a number of Black women: Helen Rankin, Ohio’s 1st Black woman legislator; now-congresswoman @RepBeatty, the 1st woman to serve as the Ohio House Dem leader; & her mother, Barbara Sykes, the 1st Black woman on the Akron City Council at-large.
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@emilyslist @RepBeatty “It is hard work, I know it firsthand, but if @StaceyAbrams can lead the effort to flip a deep Southern state blue & if @KamalaHarris can break through the glass ceiling, than I, too, can do my part to help show Black woman & girls that we belong here.” @EmiliaSykesOH
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