Jessica Byrd is a Black

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

best known for her work as Chief of Staff to Georgia gubernatorial candidate

Stacey Abrams Stacey Yvonne Abrams (; born December 9, 1973) is an American politician, lawyer, voting rights activist, and author who served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2007 to 2017, serving as minority leader from 2011 to 2017. A member ...

, and her tenure as national training director at women's rights PAC

EMILY's List EMILY's List is an American political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985. The group's name is an acronym for "Early Money ...

. She currently works as a founding partner of Three Point Strategies, a political consulting firm aimed at the mission of getting more Black women into elected offices at all levels of government. She is an architect of the

Movement for Black Lives The Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) is a coalition of more than 50 groups representing the interests of black communities across the United States. Members include the Black Lives Matter Network, the National Conference of Black Lawyers, and th ...

Electoral Justice Project, and for its

BREATHE Act The BREATHE Act is a proposal for a federal omnibus bill, presented by the Electoral Justice Project of the Movement for Black Lives. The bill proposes to divest taxpayer dollars from policing and invest in alternate, community-based approaches t ...

bill aimed at redirecting federal funds away from the criminal justice system and towards community investment. In 2020, she led the planning team for an effort called the Black National Convention. She also sits on the boards for

Black Feminist Future Black Feminist Future is a community initiative formed by members of the African American feminist community, with the aim of amplifying the power of black women and girls in community organizing and online engagement. The group was formed in rea ...

and SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective. Byrd was born in Columbus, Ohio, where she was a mentee of arts educator

Bettye Stull Bettye J. Stull (June 13, 1931 in Wheeling, West Virginia) is a curator, arts educator, and collector and is a pivotal figure in the Columbus Black arts community, known for her mentorship of young Black women, including artist April Sunami and a ...

and a graduate of the

Columbus Alternative High School Columbus Alternative High School is a public high school in the Columbus City Schools district located in the area known as North Linden, in Columbus, Ohio. The school is a magnet school for college-bound students in Columbus, with both AP and I ...

. Byrd identifies as queer.

Awards and honors

* "Woman to Watch", Essence Magazine, 2015 * "12 New Faces of Black Leadership", Time Magazine * "Time 100", Time Magazine, 2021

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrd, Jessica Living people African-American feminists Year of birth missing (living people)