Politically, Georgia has been a deep red state for years. But after Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock’s hard-fought victory this month, the peach state is looking a lot more purple. Democratic Rep. Park Cannon is part of this new era of Georgia politics. As a young black woman who identifies as queer, she welcomes the evolution she sees in politics. “As I ran, I really knew that as an openly queer person, I would be running in Georgia. And there were so many people like, ‘Wait, can’t you just say lesbian?’” Cannon tells MAKERS. “So we fast forward to 2022 and we have queer people openly running for office, we have increased numbers and that’s really exciting. It feels like a rainbow wave that I have been waiting for and am a part of.”
A PROFESSIONAL CALL
Cannon graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Hispanic linguistics and a minor in women’s and gender studies. She worked as a coordinator for a black women’s wellness program in Atlanta and was involved in health promotion. On a trip to the state capital with the wellness group, she met the Georgian MP Simone Bell. “She happened to be this phenomenal African-American lesbian,” says Cannon. Shortly after the meeting, Bell called Cannon to tell her that she was resigning from her position and that she wanted Cannon to run for her seat. “I was 23 years old. I had just left college and decided I had nothing to lose,” says Cannon. “We had a super grassroots team. We knocked on about 60,000 doors in six weeks, raised some money, and went to vote.” Cannon received 47.4% of the vote that day. However, with none of the three candidates receiving more than 50% of the vote in their race, Cannon found himself in a runoff. The first-time politician won that runoff, becoming the youngest legislator in the state’s history.
The intersectionality and diversity that Georgia has is finally showing as elected officials. And I am confident that not only does that mean that we form caucuses and sit around tables together, but that any politics that come before us really have a lens of justice.”Park Cannon, Georgia State Representative
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PUSH CHANGE
In addition to working on black women’s health, Cannon has become a major advocate for Georgia suffrage. Last year, she was arrested for knocking on the governor’s door when he signed the Republican-backed Senate Bill 202, which brought sweeping changes to voting rules. The charges against Cannon were dropped, but she continues to fight for fair and equal access for all Georgia voters. “Just because we were able to override voter suppression doesn’t mean those systems should be in place,” Cannon says, referring to the Democrats’ recent runoff victory despite the many changes introduced by the new voting law. “When we come back in the new year, there will be our provincial electoral committee meetings, there will be provincial electoral committee meetings, and we really hope that there can be some bipartisan changes to the electoral code.”
Now in her seventh year as an elected official, Cannon says she knows it takes time to bring about real change, but that persistence can actually pay off. “We have to take one step at a time. And we have to dream, too,” she says. “When the state of Georgia came out positive for our group in the presidential election, we got blue sweatshirts that said ‘State Flipper’ on them. So, this dream that we had, flipping a state, that’s what we did.”
A NEW GENERATION
In case you haven’t noticed, Cannon isn’t the only young politician out there. In fact, Arkansas just elected 18-year-old Jaylen Smith, the youngest black woman mayor in US history, and the first Generation Z congressman, Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida, is getting his feet wet in Washington, DC — which makes sense. “We actually appointed some college students to the Georgia school board in the last election cycle because we wanted them to be able to establish dress codes and whether bathrooms should be gender specific and what types of books should be taught. Someone who recently went to school should be able to make those decisions.”
As a millennial, Cannon admits she often takes on the role of tech support for her older colleagues, especially now that so much work is being done virtually. Though she’s now in her 30s, Cannon says her age still draws comment. “They’re going to say, ‘Girl, are you even old enough to be a state representative?’ And I have to take a deep breath, look down softly at my name tag and say, “Well, don’t you remember? Weren’t you here when the law passed?’” jokes Cannon. “So I give people the benefit of the doubt, give them a little Southern touch, and let them know, ‘Yeah, I’m young enough to joke with you and pass laws, too.'”
Park Cannon, State Representative for Georgia House District 58, speaks at the March On For Voting Rights at the King Center in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Derek White/Getty Images)
But no matter what age, race, gender, or sexual orientation political candidates bring to the table, Cannon hopes the increased diversity will be reflected in policies and laws that apply to all citizens. “The intersectionality and diversity that Georgia has is finally showing as elected officials,” says Cannon. “And I’m confident that that means not only that we form caucuses and sit around tables together, but that any politics that lie ahead really has a lens of justice.”
