Voting is more than a right—it’s an act of care for ourselves, our families, and our communities. At NDWA, we believe it’s a powerful tool for shaping the future.
This belief is woven deeply into the fabric of our movement, built by generations of domestic workers who fought for justice and equality.
One of the most powerful examples is Dorothy Bolden, a trailblazer whose birthday we honor and celebrate every October. Ms. Bolden organized domestic workers in Atlanta and co-founded the National Domestic Workers Union in the 1960s and she fought tirelessly for fair wages and labor rights. But her vision went beyond the workplace. Ms. Bolden understood that for domestic workers to gain respect and rights, they had to have power at the ballot box. In the face of systemic voter suppression, she mobilized Black voters, knowing that voting was key to achieving justice for all workers.
But this legacy of activism and civic duty goes back even further. In the years after emancipation, newly freed Black women, many of whom were domestic workers, saw voting as a sacred duty—not just for themselves, but for their entire communities. Despite being denied the right to vote, Black women organized in churches and community centers, risking their safety to ensure that Black men could vote. They provided protection at the polls and, even without the vote, made their voices heard in mass meetings, advocating for true freedom through collective action.
Similarly, immigrant women, including Latina and Asian women, have been at the forefront of the fight for justice, even when they couldn’t vote themselves. Facing barriers like language discrimination, threats of deportation, and the weight of navigating an unfamiliar system, they did not stay silent. Instead, they organized their families, neighbors, and communities, mobilizing others to vote and building political power from the ground up.
The 2006 immigrant rights marches, largely driven by women, show the power of collective action, even when the vote itself was out of reach for many. Their activism laid the groundwork for political engagement across generations, inspiring their children and future voters to take action.
This Election Day, remember we are standing on the shoulders of so many brave women who came before us. Every time we vote, we honor their legacy — ensuring that our work, our voices, and our communities are seen, heard and valued. Our votes are not just ours – they are a tribute to their fight and a promise to the generations to come.
