Andrea Jenkins, an openly trans woman of color, won a Minneapolis City Council seat to represent the city’s 8th ward on Tuesday night. Gender advocates say Jenkins has made history as the first openly transgender black woman elected to public office in the United States.
Her election, along with Virginia’s Danica Roem, is very historic with the two women becoming the first openly trans people to win publicly elected positions.
Jenkins, a former a former policy aide to two city council members, picked up endorsements from the Minneapolis Star Tribune as well as Congressman Keith Ellison while running a campaign emphasizing affordable housing, raising the minimum wage and fair policing. Jenkins captured 73 percent of the votes to win Minneapolis’ Eight Ward over three other candidates last night.
“As an African American trans-identified woman, I know firsthand the feeling of being marginalized, left out, thrown under the bus. Those days are over. We don’t just want a seat at the table, we want to set the table,” Jenkins said in her victory speech, according to KMSP-TV in MInneapolis-St. Paul.
