Where Do We Go From Here?

Trump took office again on January 20. For those of us working to advance gender equality and intersecting issues, where do we collectively go from here? What do we need to focus on?

The return of a Trump administration signals a renewed urgency to protect and advance gender equity, racial justice, and human rights. We cannot afford to be reactive, we must be proactive in strengthening the resilience of our movements, building collective power, and safeguarding the policies and progress that directly impact marginalized communities.

Now, more than ever, our focus must be on:

• Protecting and Expanding Rights: We must fiercely defend reproductive justice, LGBTQ+ protections, labor rights, and racial equity while advocating for policies that push beyond defense toward transformative change.
• Strengthening Grassroots Organizing: Grassroots movements will be critical in resisting harmful policies and ensuring our communities are educated, mobilized, and connected.
• Building Cross-Movement Solidarity: The attacks on gender equality, reproductive rights, and racial justice are interconnected. We need coalition-building that bridges movements, from immigrant rights to climate justice to labor organizing.
• Investing in Leadership Development: Preparing the next generation of leaders, especially women of color, will be crucial in sustaining long-term movement power.

This is not just about surviving the next four years; it’s about continuing to build a future where justice, equity, and human dignity are non-negotiable.

How do we make progress during this time? Are there new strategies we should be adopting in terms of organizing and coalition building?

Progress will come from strategic resistance, deep organizing, and radical imagination. We need to refine our tactics, leverage new tools, and remain nimble in the face of shifting political landscapes.

The work I do is deeply grounded in servant leadership and Kingian Nonviolence, a philosophy and methodology that has guided social movements for generations. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Six Principles of Nonviolence and Six Steps of Nonviolent Social Change offer a powerful framework for strategic organizing, ensuring that our work is not only effective but also transformative and sustainable.

Some key strategies include:

• The power of social media has already proven critical in shaping movements. However, we must ensure that our organizing is not only digital but rooted in offline action to sustain real-world impact. Digital advocacy must lead to direct engagement, mobilization, and structural change.
• Change often happens at the local and state levels before it happens federally. We must invest in city councils, school boards, and local organizing to create policies that protect our communities from regressive national policies.
• Historically, feminist movements have been fractured along racial, class, and ideological lines. We must build genuine, reciprocal partnerships that center the most impacted communities. This aligns with Kingian Nonviolence’s principle of “Attack Forces of Evil, Not Persons Doing Evil,” which calls us to focus on systems of oppression rather than individuals and build coalitions across differences.
• Even in opposition, we must engage in shaping policy and electoral strategy. Holding elected officials accountable and increasing voter turnout will remain crucial. Nonviolent movements are most effective when they use strategic negotiation and direct action, both essential steps in the Six Steps of Nonviolent Social Change.
• Burnout is a real threat in long-term movements. We must integrate wellness, healing justice, and sustainability practices into our organizing. One of Kingian Nonviolence’s foundational principles is that “Nonviolence Seeks to Win Friendship and Understanding” this means fostering a beloved community, where care and healing are at the center of our work.
• We must continue to engage in strategic, disciplined nonviolent resistance. This means using boycotts, mass demonstrations, civil disobedience, and policy interventions as part of a broader, long-term strategy for justice. As Dr. King taught, “Nonviolence Seeks to Defeat Injustice, Not People”, our organizing must be focused, strategic, and rooted in the moral high ground.

By adapting and evolving our strategies, while grounding ourselves in Kingian Nonviolence and servant leadership, we not only resist oppressive policies, but also strengthen the foundation for a more equitable and just future.

What is your call to action?

My call to action is simple but urgent: Commit to the work.

• Organize: Find a local or national organization fighting for the issues you care about and get involved.
• Educate: Stay informed, share knowledge, and disrupt misinformation that weakens our movements.
• Mobilize: Take to the streets, vote, lobby, run for office and engage in direct action.
• Protect Our Communities: Support mutual aid networks, community defense, and sanctuary policies that protect the most vulnerable.
• Invest in Leadership: Uplift, femtor (mentor), and support women and gender-expansive leaders in your circles.

Our liberation is collective. Now is the time to show up with everything we have.

The U.S. once again failed to elect our first woman president. What will it take to get a woman president and more women into political leadership?

The failure to elect a woman president is not about the lack of qualified women, it’s about the deeply ingrained sexism, racism, and structural barriers that continue to define American politics.

To change this, we must:

• Dismantle Institutional Barriers: Women, especially women of color, continue to face obstacles in funding, media representation, and party support. We need stronger financial and institutional backing for women candidates.
• Confront Sexism in Political Culture: Women in politics are held to unrealistic and contradictory standards, seen as "too ambitious," "too soft," "too aggressive." We must actively challenge these narratives.
• Increase Representation at Every Level: More women in local, state, and congressional offices will help normalize women’s leadership and create pathways to higher positions.
• Engage and Mobilize Voters: Women voters are a powerful force. We need intersectional voter engagement strategies that turn out women, particularly Black and Latina women, who have historically been key voting blocs.
• Encourage Young Women and Girls: We must actively mentor and invest in the next generation of political leaders, ensuring they have the tools, networks, MONEY and support to succeed.

The fight for gender equity in leadership is not just about symbolism, it’s about shifting power.

What gives you hope? For those feeling disheartened by this setback and overwhelmed by the work ahead, what words of encouragement would you offer?

I find hope in the resilience of our people. History shows us that movements do not succeed overnight, but we win because we persist. The power we build today is the foundation for the victories of tomorrow.

To those feeling disheartened:

• Remember the Moral Arc of the Universe is Long but it Bends Toward Justice: Justice is a long fight. Every step forward, even when it feels small, is part of something bigger.
• Look at the Wins: Despite setbacks, we have seen unprecedented numbers of women, especially women of color, in leadership. We have won protections, shifted narratives, and built power.
• You Are Not Alone: Movement work is collective. If you feel overwhelmed, lean on your community. We are stronger together.
• Rest is Resistance: Burnout is not the goal. We need each other for the long haul, take care of yourself so you can keep fighting.

We are the inheritors of generations of struggle, and we owe it to the future to keep going. Hope is not passive, it is the fuel that keeps us in the fight.

Are there any other thoughts you would like to share?

We are at a defining moment. This is bigger than one election or one administration. It is about the kind of country we want to live in, and the world we are building for future generations.

As Harry Belafonte powerfully reminded us, “Every generation is responsible for their own liberation.” No one is coming to save us. The time is now. We are the ones we have been waiting for.

We are not here to watch from the sidelines. We are here to fight. To build. To transform.

We must keep our eyes on the prize and build an intersectional, intercultural, and intergenerational women’s movement, one that uplifts all voices, challenges injustice at every level, and creates lasting change. We are powerful. We are many. And together, we will win.

Lastly, I leave you with the words of Coretta Scott King: “Women, if the soul of the nation is to be saved, we must become its soul.”

Portions of this interview appeared at ForbesWomen and Women’s Media Center.

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