Friends And Family:
The work to love, lift, and lead the beloved community is one I have been dedicated to since my youth. Today, individuals in this country enjoy legal access to education, civic participation, and economic freedom as a result of generations of hard fought battles by marching, petitioning in courthouses, advocating in schoolhouses, passing legislation and the like. My life's work is to fight and actively participate so that we can achieve those democratic goals in an equal and equitable manner.
Politician
Everything I put my heart, my hand, and my head to I seek for it to germinate and we arrive at common ground. I want the work, the fight to shine a light and serve the underserved and underrepresented. That is why at age twenty-two (22) I entered the political arena as a Democratic candidate for the 105th Tennessee General Assembly (2007-2009) for the House of Representatives (District 53-South Nashville and Antioch) and the 2022 Democratic Nominee for the 118th Congress (2023-2025), U.S. House of Representatives for Arkansas Second District (AR-02).
Published Author
That is why I self-published three (3) books: Boy Joe Down In The Country: A Sharecropping Story (2013), A Talk With The Community: Politics, Education, And Other Social Issues (2015), and Words From The Greats (Version 1.0) (2017).
Educator And Historian
That is why I have educated in all core subjects and lead for over sixteen (16) years from coast-to-coast. That is why I am a historian, a student of history; with an emphasis on African American and United States History; as well as sociology.
Orator
That is why I am an orator and speechwriter. I crafted all policy positions and the platform for my campaigns, all speeches, talking points, and press releases, marketing materials, and website design and webmaster.
Entrepreneur
That is why the entrepreneurial spirit guided me in July 2015 to found my self-titled education and business consultancy and professional development provider, Q. Hathaway And Associates, LLC. I head all request for proposals (RFPs), presentations, grant and contract solicitations, and make points of contact. Additionally, I am responsible for providing strategic, financial and operational leadership to a team of dynamic consultant with over one hundred twenty (120) years of combined expertise.
Thought Leader
That is why as a thought leader, I wrote an international blog, A Talk With The Community for eight (8) years to over two thousand three hundred (2,300) subscribers. I addressed major topical issues, wrote a letters to the United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU) against the Libyan Slave Trade.
Additionally, I laid out my first (1st) amicus brief on the behalf of the Plaintiffs in Simpson et. al. v. Thurston et. al. to the United States District Court, Eastern District of Arkansas (Central Division) claiming the Arkansas legislature was grossly out-of-step with the diversity and pluralist direction of the state and their map manipulation affirms it. The Defendants’ intent was to achieve incumbency protection, create and enhance a white voting bloc, and expand Republican partisan advantage. I further claimed the Republicans deliberately divided the state’s most populous county and minority dominated hub, according to race, with surgical precision and gerrymandered the Second Congressional District to crack and break the back of the African American vote.
Scholar
That is why as a scholar, my groundbreaking dissertation, The Common Core State Standards Initiative And The Achievement Gap was a national (fifty states, the District of Columbia, and the United States territories) analysis on our country’s educational policy. It is steeped in scholarship and has the potential to empower the American education system. My research supports better policymaking, practice, and deeper engagement with those on the public square in their approach to pedagogy and curriculum. Likewise, I am an academic honors graduate of Glencliff Comprehensive High School in Nashville, Tennessee. I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science degree (2006) from the illustrious Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi. Also, I am a graduate of the renowned Tennessee State University with a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction (2008); Specialist in Education in Administration and Supervision (2010); and Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (2018).
The terms "equal rights" and advocacy encompass many different areas. There are an infinite number issues to fight for, and an equally large number of avenues in which to advocate for equal justice, and my passion centers on equality in education and social policy.
The Work, The Fight
I seek:
1. To author or co-author the national standards and curriculum framework of evidence and research-based practices for African and African American studies and other social science discipline standards and competencies.
2. Construct the speeches, talking points and messaging on Critical Race Theory (CRT) for the Democratic National Committee (DNC); as well as publish articles in scholarly journals on the subject.
3. To attend the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Illinois; as well as be a delegate and platform writer.
4. To author and co-author and/or conduct the legal research to the principal case brief(s) supporting African American history and Critical Race Theory (CRT).
5. Speak at African American houses of worship throughout the South on the significance of voting and political engagement.
6. Collaborate with the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), Democrats, and educational stakeholders to record the bill what I call, "The National Multicultural Education Act."
7. Partner with organizations and individuals to write, "The Southern Blueprint: A Construct For Democrats To Win The Region."
8. Conduct mass voter registration of high schoolers and college students across the South and place them in the voter action network (VAN) prior to the 2024 election cycle.
9. Create a universal and multilingual voter registration application.
10. To write an amicus brief to federal court(s) on book banning.
11. To sit on a formidable panel addressing racial and partisan gerrymandering.
12. Address, promote, and lecture at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) on a grand scale; as well as lobby on their behalf to state and federal elected officials.
13. To write and orate, "Dream Another Dream" in the vein and ethos of "I Have A Dream" by Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. It has an aim to inspire, speak to this historical moment; as well as a prophetic message to imagine a fully enfranchised nation with a world class public educational systems.
In the words of iconic Civil Rights Activist, Recording Artist, and Ancestor Harry Belafonte in an interview with the New York Times in 2017, "When I took up with Martin,” he said. “I really thought, two, at best three years this should be over. Fifty years later, he’s dead and gone, and the Supreme Court just reversed voting rights, and the police are shooting us down dead in the streets. And I look at this horizon of destruction, and I watch the black community by our state of being mute – we have no movement.” Rock and Roll Legend, Fellow Tennessee Native, and now Ancestor Tina Turner expressed, "I believe if you'll just stand up and go, life will open up for you."
I want to advance the work, the fight of stressing the need for equal rights and just treatment of minorities. I have and will continue to say, "We are in the Second Civil Rights Movement." And, it calls each of us to stand up more as we continue to struggle for freedom and lead a twenty-first (21st) century social transformation.
My readers and supporters are clergy members, journalists and commentators, civil rights leaders and organizations, entrepreneurs, educators and administrators at all levels, current and former elected and appointed officials and candidates, and politically informed citizens. I am writing to call upon you to help broaden and deepen my work, our collaborative work.
According to the holy scriptures of Matthew 7:7-8, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." I am asking each of you to share this email with fellow leaders, change agents, educational administrators, decision makers, and influencers. I am knocking on the door with the hope it will be opened. I may be reached via email at [email protected] and directly at (615) 473-3213.
In solidarity,
Dr. Quintessa Hathaway
2022 Democratic Nominee
118th United States Congress (2023-2025)
House Of Representatives
Arkansas Second District (AR-02)
"Let's Take Central Arkansas Onward, Forward, Upward, And Outward"
Founder, Chief Executive Officer, And Lead Consultant
Q. Hathaway And Associates, LLC
"Empowering And Inspiring A Generation"
