There are so many incredible women politicians out there who are trying to make positive changes in America each day.
One of them is Andrea Jenkins, who made tremendous history when she became the first African-American transgender woman to be elected to public office in 2017.
Andrea was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1961. She grew up in a low-income neighborhood and was raised by her hardworking mom, Shirley. As a kid, Shirley was a member of the Cub Scouts and played football in school. She had a great reputation as a student, loving poetry and literature.
As a teenager, Andrea started becoming more passionate about Black heritage and culture, writing poetry about social justice, race, and gender.
In 1979, Andrea started attending the University of Minnesota, where she noticed a lot of racial discrimination. Still identifying as male then, she enrolled in a fraternity and lived in the male dorms.
Eventually, one of her fraternity brothers outed her, and she was kicked out, leaving her with no place to live and forcing her to move back home to Chicago.
In the early 1980s, Andrea was still struggling with her identity, but she did begin exploring her love of politics. In 1983, she worked on Harold Washington’s mayoral campaign, helping him get elected as Chicago’s first Black mayor.
While in her 20s, Andrea got married and had a daughter while working as a vocational counselor for Hennepin County. A few years later, at 30, she got a divorce and came out as a transgender woman.
At 38, while beginning her transition, Andrea decided to return to school and got her B.A. in Human Services from Metropolitan State University. She then earned two master’s degrees, including an M.A. in Community Development from Southern New Hampshire University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Hamline University.
In 2001, Andrea served on another political campaign before being hired as an aide for Minneapolis City Council member Elizabeth Gidden in 2005. While working for Elizabeth, Andrea won a Bush Fellowship in 2011.
Andrea continued working hard to help the transgender community in America. She helped establish the Transgender Issues Work Group and organized a City Council summit dedicated to solving issues affecting the local transgender community in Minnesota in 2014.
In 2016, when Elisabeth Gidden announced she would not run for reelection, Andrea decided to run for the open City Council seat. She won with 78% of the election votes, making her the first Black trans person elected to public office in the United States. Andrea’s colleagues elected her Vice President of the City Council shortly after this election.
In 2018, Andrea was featured alongside other women who ran for office in 2017 and 2018 on the cover of Time Magazine.
Andrea won reelection to the Minneapolis City Council in 2022 with 86% of the votes in her favor. She was then historically selected to be the President of the Council.
Andrea is still serving on the Minneapolis City Council, tackling many issues and trying to make the city a better place. She’s especially passionate about LGBTQ+ and women’s rights, affordable housing, healthcare, etc.
Andrea has not only made incredible history but has paved the way for other members of the transgender community who aspire to have a life in politics.
