Jasmine Crockett Just Reminded Us What Black Women’s Leadership Looks Like

In politics, there are moments when courage matters more than certainty. Moments when the act of running itself reshapes what people believe is possible.

Running for the United States Senate in Texas was never going to be easy. What Jasmine Crockett did not do was wait for her turn, temper her ambition or aim too small.  She challenged us to reimagine the theory of change for how Black women run and how we engage Black voters.

In the days since the March 3rd Democratic primary, the Monday morning quarterbacks have arrived. There are critiques about strategy, turnout, and what might have been done differently. Some have even suggested she should never run at all.

But that is not how we understand Black women’s political leadership.

Yes, hindsight is always 20/20. Every campaign can be studied and improved. But progress has never come from waiting for perfect conditions. It comes from people willing to imagine something bigger and pursue it anyway.

More than 2.2 million ballots were cast in the Democratic Senate primary between Crockett and James Talarico, far exceeding turnout for any Democratic midterm Senate primary in Texas this century. Her campaign was rooted in a belief that Texas politics could change if the electorate expanded, and she worked to energize voters who too often feel overlooked.

Her campaign energized voters and contributed to turnout for Democrats statewide, including down-ballot races. Efforts like hers build the infrastructure that future campaigns rely on.

Last week’s primary results left many Black women feeling a familiar mix of disappointment and growing frustration.  The loss of Crockett’s Senate bid stung not only because of the outcome, but because so many saw in her campaign a bold vision for what Texas politics could become.  Crockett’s campaign reminds us that real political change is never built in a single race. It requires sustained investment in our leadership.  Across the country, Black women are running for office, organizing our communities and preparing to lead.  That is why organizations like Higher Heights are gathering Black women across this country to meet this moment by investing in training ‘for us, by us’ at our upcoming virtual #BlackWomenLead Bootcamp later this month, where the next generation of candidates, organizers, and movement builders are preparing for the fights ahead.

Crockett’s run is rooted in a powerful Texas tradition of Black women’s leadership, from Barbara Jordan to Eddie Bernice Johnson to Sheila Jackson Lee. Black women have repeatedly stepped forward to run statewide in the South, even when the odds were long. Leaders like Val Demings in Florida, Cheri Beasley in North Carolina, and Stacey Abrams in Georgia showed what it means to compete boldly and expand the electorate.

Progress rarely arrives all at once. Sometimes the ceiling does not shatter in a single moment.

Sometimes it cracks.

Jasmine Crockett helped crack it wider, showing us what it means to dare to run and demonstrate what it looks like when a Black woman leads.

Glynda C. Carr is President and CEO of Higher Heights for America, a 501(c)(4) organization, and its connected federal political action committee, Higher Heights for America PAC, which works to expand Black women’s elected representation and voting participation. Learn more at www.higherheightsforamerica.org.