Jotaka is the Founder and CEO of Full Circle Strategies and the Founder of #WinWithBlackWomen, an intergenerational, intersectional group of Black women leaders representing business, sports, movement, politics, entertainment, and beyond who come together within their personal capacities to stand united in support of Black women. She is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.
My number one advice to other mobilizers or people thinking about mobilizing is just to do it. I believe that the age-old notion that you should "stay ready so that you don't have to get ready" has never been more applicable than in this current moment. We all as individuals have power. We have to harness that power along with our ability to step up and do something. Everything else will follow.
Of course, we must also continue doing the work in between. We all have platforms and voices, and we need to understand the power of that. Whether you gather 4,000 people or 44,000 people, any action that moves us forward matters.
That is very simple: make a plan to vote and tell others to do the same. Voting is the most critical thing that people can do between now and Election Day.
First, I would encourage people to plan for themselves and ensure that their friends and family have a plan to vote. We don't have the luxury of just assuming that people are going to vote. We must ensure that people have every resource needed to cast their ballot. We need to make sure that those in our communities are registered to vote. They need to know their polling location. And we must pass key voting information on to others. Everyone needs to understand why this election is so important. There is so much at stake. Our goal is to turn out the largest number of voters ever to get to a victory in November.
Secondly, I'd like to emphasize that we have to stay involved after Election Day. We vote for candidates during an election, but we also must hold them accountable once they're in office. On November 6th we should all know who has been elected to office, and not just at the presidential level. We need to know who has been elected to Congress, to our local mayor's office, to our local district attorney's office, to our city councils, and our school boards. We need to be educated on who is going to be representing us.
Then we need our representatives to know that we are still here, that we are still engaged, and that we are still clear on the issues that took us to the polls. That's how democracy works; it is a 365-day exercise, and not just about one day in November.
What I’ve learned is that we’re all more connected and our work is more intersectional than we often think. These are not siloed areas. There is overlap between the tech platforms being built, those responsible for building them, and the policies governing them that are being decided upon at every level – from Congress to state legislatures and through executive orders and implementation at the agency level.
With all the advocacy and community-centric work that we do on a day-to-day basis, the people who are in each of those areas must be talking to each other. That is how we will have better, people-centered tech platforms, people-centered policies, and people-centered politicians in place that can drive positive impacts for all people.
If somebody were to ask me what’s my “secret sauce,” I would say that it is the network that I’ve been able to help build and cultivate. I’ve spent my career connecting worlds. I think that has been a blessing.
Ultimately, connection is the driver. It is the foundation upon which most of my work is built. My success has depended on the authentic relationships I've established across a broad array of sectors, interests, and backgrounds. My ability to touch, reach, and most importantly, connect people has been extremely foundational to the work that I do – personally, professionally, and philanthropically.
I’m particularly proud of the opportunities I’ve had to bring women together, which is an ethos that led to the creation of #WInWithBlackWomen.
My mother. She is a strong, kind woman who has always thought about others first. She has always been centered on a value system that asks, "How do I help someone else?" Whether that someone else is an individual, an organization, or a community.
What my mother has taught me more than anything is to lead with those values. To lead with kindness. And to never underestimate the value of my voice. She fundamentally understands the impact that one person can create.
She instilled in me a belief that just because I come from a small place that most people have never heard of, that I shouldn't underestimate my prowess to do things that can make an impact. She would always say to me: "You can be a pebble, that can create a ripple, that can create waves, that can create a tsunami of change." From her, I've learned to reach for the moon, because even if I slip, at least I'll be amongst the stars.
I would be remiss if I did not mention many of the other Black women who have inspired me and are no longer with us like Dr. Dorothy Irene Height and Mary Mcleod Bethune, whose organizing model has been a blueprint for my own. I also admire the women leaders who currently walk alongside me. It is beautiful when you can look to your left, look to your right, look in front and behind, and find a woman that you admire. In that regard, there are too many to name.
My cell phone because that's where all my contacts are! It has my calendar and honestly, it is how I do most of my work. Between all the texting and calling I do, I couldn't live without my phone. If the data in my phone were wiped out, I wouldn't know what to do. I keep it on me at all times.
I also can't live without my passport, because I love to travel. I've been to more than 60 countries around the world. As much as it can be work, travel is also a form of self-care for me. I put my eyes on my passport at least once a week to make sure it's safe.
Zooms for Kamala Harris!
These calls have been so special because of how many people have been inspired as a result. People have shared with me that for the first time in their lives, they feel like they are a part of something. Some have said that for years they have felt stagnant in their political lives and that they have now been reawakened. I hear stories like this daily about what the original July #WinWithBlackWomen call meant, and what the various subsequent ones have meant. That includes people who helped organize them and folks who have just participated.
As someone who has been a Silicon Valley executive and investor, I understand the power that technology has to connect us. It has allowed for an 80-year-old woman, Dr. Hellen Stewart, who lives in Hawaii to connect almost every Sunday with a 60-year-old corporate executive in Dallas, a 40-year-old political organizer in South Carolina, and a 20-year-old up-and-coming young activist in California. It is beautiful that tech has allowed people who have previously not been connected to become connected in a very real and authentic way.
I'm also excited about the fact that so many people are coming together united around the historic campaign and nomination of Vice President Kamala Harris. She is somebody I admire, consider a friend and someone whom I believe is the best and most qualified person to be the 47th president of the United States.
