06 We Belong Here
Statehouse security guards repeatedly stopped and searched her while she was on her way to work, significantly more than her white male colleagues. When she was finally told that she "didn't look like a legislator," Representative Emilia Sykes, Minority Whip for the Ohio House of Representatives, decided to fight back, launching the "We Belong Here" campaign. Rep. Sykes talks with us about race, gender and political legitimacy, as well as her legislative agenda to stop violence against women.