It took 250 years. For two and a half centuries, no American state elected a Black woman as governor. On Tuesday, Georgia changed that. Keisha Lance Bottoms broke through one of the most stubborn concrete ceilings in American politics to become the first Black woman ever elected to lead a state.
She did not make history alone. In the U.S. Virgin Islands, voters elected Stacey Plaskett governor, another landmark for Black women in executive office. Two Black women. Two historic wins. One clear message: Keisha Lance Bottoms and leaders like her are not waiting on history. They are writing it.
The organization Higher Heights has supported Bottoms since her first run for Atlanta mayor and has long championed Plaskett’s work for the Virgin Islands. Both women have led with courage and a deep commitment to public service. That is what makes this moment so personal.
The story of the 2026 midterms extends far beyond two governors’ races. In Illinois, Julianna Stratton won a U.S. Senate seat. Alongside Senators Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland and Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, she will make three Black women serving in the Senate together for the first time in American history.
A new class of Black women is headed to the U.S. House, and longtime champions like Maxine Waters, Terri Sewell and Ayanna Pressley won new terms. Black women were elected attorneys general, secretaries of state, lieutenant governors and mayors, from D.C. to Oakland. All the way down the ballot, Black women stepped up to lead, and voters showed up for them.
None of this happens without Black women voters. They organize their neighborhoods and build the power that helps others win, often without recognition. When a Black woman heads to the polls, she brings her house, her church, her block, her sorority and her union with her. This year, that power was channeled directly into their own advancement.
But we should be honest about what a 250-year wait says. Progress this slow was never inevitable. It is what results from barriers, underinvestment and a political system that asked Black women to do the work without offering them a seat at the table. The refusal now is clear: we will not wait another 250 years for the next breakthrough.
Black women are not just making history. We are designing the democracy we plan to build over the next 250 years.
That work does not start or stop on Election Day. It means recruiting and training candidates, investing in leaders early and making sure Black women have what they need to run and win at every level. Governor-elect Bottoms and Governor-elect Plaskett did not get here on their own, and the women coming behind them should not have to either.
This week, a Black girl somewhere watched a woman who looks like her step into a governor’s office and learned that no office is out of her reach.
So, yes, we celebrate. Then we get back to work, building a democracy that fully reflects the leadership, voices and power of Black women. When Black women lead, history changes. And this year, it changed for good.
Glynda C. Carr is President and CEO of Higher Heights for America, the political home for Black women. www.higherheightsforamerica.org.
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