This political strategist is making sure North Carolina remains nurtured – the essence

I grew up poor in rural Granville County, North Carolina, Shaniqua McClendon She knew she would must make cash to survive. But her college profession at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, interrupted by witnessing the devastation of Hurricane Katrina during her freshman 12 months and the election of President Barack Obama during her senior 12 months, modified her course endlessly.

“[Hurricane Katrina] “that was the first time I really started to understand the role that government plays in people’s lives,” McClendon says. “And this was a case of them not playing a good role in Black lives. I began to see that growing up in poverty was more about a set of decisions made by those in elected office – about what we would have access to and how the country and our world would function. We were a byproduct of that, and that’s why I got interested in politics. I truly believe that politics is a way to improve people’s lives.”

An internship at the White House during the Obama administration, followed by a job offer with U.S. Senator Kay Hagan, prompted McClendon to depart home for Washington. She also served as legislative director for Congresswoman Alma S. Adams; on this position, she led the charge to steer the creation of the inaugural Congressional Bipartisan Caucus for HBCUs.

McClendon continued to realize recognition. She earned distinction in her graduate studies at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, being the recipient of the Robert F. Kennedy Award for Excellence in Service. “My capstone project was how to get more voter-friendly policies in North Carolina,” McClendon explains. “Because North Carolina used to be a state where electoral policies encouraged people to vote, but after the v. decision we saw North Carolina do a 180 degree turn and start being a voter suppression state.”

Her mission has remained unchanged since graduation, she says, emphasizing the enduring goal she has set for herself in her work: “North Carolina has always been a state where I have made sure we invest.”

McClendon is currently in her sixth 12 months as Vice President of Political Strategy at Crooked Media, where she founded the Vote Save America program, which has raised over $57 million and activated over 600,000 voters, volunteers and grassroots donors across the country. Her approach is to seek out an area organization to partner on this effort. “They are here all year round, and they don’t just focus on picking one person,” he notes. “It’s really rare that you just agree with the whole lot an elected official, politician or candidate stands for, but in the event you work with a company around a difficulty you care about, it’s going to improve your entire community, not only one elected person.

“Because if the person you help get elected through this organization disappoints you in a major way, you and the organization can work to replace them,” he adds. “It’s much better to be involved with an organization that’s active year-round and stay involved in the community, not just when it’s time to choose a candidate.”

McClendon’s passion for her home state is abundantly clear – North Carolina is a continuing theme. “I always think this is an important state we should focus on, but this year a few people will agree with me,” he notes wryly. “I all the time made sure that if I could ever help North Carolina, I might.

“For a long time, I felt enormous guilt about leaving home, a place I loved and wanted more than anything to make it better,” McClendon continued. “I could have stayed and used my talent there. But over the last few years, I’ve realized that you don’t have to be home to go to the place you call home. My two jobs on Capitol Hill were with members of Congress from North Carolina. In my current role, I have directed a lot of resources and attention to my home state. And I will continue to do so.”

Moreover, McClendon remains committed to supporting the rights of black women. “It became clear to me,” she says, “that black women are at the bottom of privilege in this country. Only we seem to take our needs seriously, and in a way that works for real change and improvement in our lives, not just political point-scoring or performative allyship.”

Bottom line: “We need to elect more black women,” she states. “With the presence of Black women in these spaces, we will see that we are paying much more attention to the issues that affect us.” Ultimately, McClendon notes, “Black women will always fight the hardest for everyone, not just people who look like them.”

Looking back, McClendon recalls what her achievements meant to her as a black woman with a recognizable black name. Even before research on naming bias became commonplace, she was keenly aware of her success. “I’m really happy that I’m not burdened with a lot of stereotypes associated with my name,” she says.

Of course, not everyone received this memo. During the campaign, former President Trump ally Laura Loomer issued a special warning, saying, “I’m talking about Kamala Harris, Letitia James, and Fani Willis… all without credit DEI Shaniqua talking the same way.”

In response to Loomer’s comments, McClendon recalled, “I think of Kamala Harris running and the deliberateness with which people mispronounce her name or don’t even try to pronounce her name correctly.” McClendon believes these are subversive efforts intended to perpetuate stereotypes of black women, especially those with ethnic surnames, as unskilled and undeserving of praise.

“There is no one named Shaniqua of political prominence to even add that surname,” McClendon notes. “There’s just a cultural association with the meaning of the name Shaniqua, and that’s often the punchline.” Never again.