Angie Nixon Has Big Senate Dreams—But Her Feet Are Firmly on the Ground (in Hot Pink Skechers)
If you want to find time with Angie Nixon, you might just have to do it while she’s driving. The 42-year-old labor organizer and member of the Florida House of Representatives won the Democratic Party’s Senate nomination last month, and between hitting the campaign trail and raising five children, Nixon—only the second Black woman to win a major party nomination for the US Senate in Florida—is often on the road.
That’s exactly where Vogue caught up with her this week to learn about the lessons she’s learned as a small business owner that she hopes to take with her to the Senate, the progressive politicians she’s modeling herself after, her focus on youth mental health, and the campaign-trail insult that she and her team turned into a signature look. Vogue: What has life looked like since your Senate primary win last month?
Angie Nixon: Very, very busy. [Laughs.] “Busy” is an understatement. I saw you recently got Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s endorsement. What has it been like to build that relationship? It’s been really cool to talk to her and other congresspeople and representatives across the country who are ready for us to take the House and the Senate, ready to create a united front.
We’re going to need all hands on deck
We’re going to need all hands on deck as we fight against this money, right? It’s going to take many of us to fight against the money. Who are some of the other politicians inspiring you right now? I love Ayanna Pressley and the Bernie Sanderses of the world. I also love Summer Lee; she’s the best. You’ve done so many different things over the course of your career, from co-founding Jacksonville’s Melanin Market to running the bookstore and coffee shop Cafe Resistance.
How have those work experiences informed your political platform? I have learned how to organize and seen what a lot of small business owners were facing, and I’ve learned how to bring people together and do coalition-building. Small business owners are facing a lack of access to capital and a lack of access to knowledge about how to really start a legitimate business; I mean, they have legitimate businesses, but members of the Black community or people from low-income areas sometimes start businesses out of desperation and need, and they don’t necessarily set them up the right way.
I can say that, as someone who initially did that myself! [Laughs.] Knowing what small business owners face and what they need makes me want to help address those issues moving forward and set things up so that people can be successful and not start businesses that wind up closing. What’s been most helpful to you while mounting a Senate campaign as as a mother of five? I have a very strong village.
Today is my daughter’s birthday, and my friends
Today is my daughter’s birthday, and my friends and family are picking up my baby and planning her birthday party. I’m so happy, because they know that I’m out here working for them and fighting for them to not have to leave their babies on their birthdays. Can you tell me a little bit about co-authoring the children’s book The Adventures of Moxie McGriff with your daughter Natalie?
It was a lot of biting my tongue. [Laughs.] No, honestly, we started that project because my daughter didn’t like her hair. She could read, but she didn’t like to read, and she wanted to make herself a superhero and create a comic book where she would have to read more books to learn more words. We made her insecurity—her Afro puffs—into her superpower. Are there particular challenges you’ve faced as a working parent that you hope to address in the Senate?
I think there is a real need for social media companies to make sure that certain topics aren’t just fully available to children. My daughter has battled with depression and anxiety, and I’ve heard of other people losing their children to suicide and suicide rates among young people rising. A lot of that has to do with social media and what those kids are feeling right now about living in this country, and I want the social media companies to stop centering certain things in young people’s algorithms.
How would you describe your campaign style
How would you describe your campaign style? Relaxed, bright, and colorful! I like to be casual. I don’t want anything that’s too tight on me. I’m a mama, so I have to move around. I kind of just throw stuff together, which is not the best, to be honest. [Laughs.] How did your campaign team end up in matching pink sneakers? Unfortunately, my primary opponent’s wife made a comment about my outfit and said I needed to get more professional shoes.
I had on some burgundy-and-pink Skechers at the time, so I said: “Well, shoot, let me go and get some hot pink Skechers to match with my campaign colors.” When we won, we decided to get everybody pink Skechers to wear when they go out and knock on doors. You’ve faced some appalling racist rhetoric lately from conservative critic. How do you deal with that kind of personal attack?
You know, I’ve clapped back a few times, but it just gets tiresome and hurtful seeing how normalized it’s become for people to attack Black women. What has been helpful, though, is seeing people around the country learning about my race and showing me support. That’s made me feel really good. This conversation has been edited and condensed.
Source: www.vogue.com
