This weekend (Oct. 24 and 25), 100 politically-minded women from various HBCUs across the country will participate in the Elect Her training, a forum where student leaders will learn essential tools and confidence-building activities to prepare them to run for a future in student government and political office.

BET has partnered with Running Start and Xceleader to host this virtual political leadership training on National Vote Early Day. Two former Howard University Student Body Presidents and Elect Her alums: Jade Agudosi (Xceleader Co-Founder) and Allyson Carpenter (youngest-ever elected official in Washington, DC) will lead the programming and provide insight from their personal experiences and burgeoning careers in civil service.

Congresswomen Frederica Wilson (D, FL-24), a graduate of Fisk University and Alma Adams (D, NC-12), a graduate of NC Agricultural & Technical State University will also participate in the training helping to build these new leaders.

This effort is important as statistics show that African American women are often excluded from the local, state, and federal governance. In fact, studies say that while Black women are 7.6% of the population, yet they account for just 4.3% of all members of the House and 1% of the Senate.  While Black women in college make up 62% of the HBCU student body, a large gender gap remains when it comes to leadership within the top levels of student government.

In over a decade, the Elect Her training program has labored to shift that statistic by working with over 20,000 young women who have translated the skills that they’ve learned into meaningful positions. Likewise, Xceleader created the Xceleaher program as another resource for women on HBCU campuses to bridge the lopsided leadership gap that exists.

The Elect Her Training for HBCU Women will be conducted on Zoom and will be closed to non-registered members. Register at ELECTHER.XCELEADER.COM/REGISTER. Spaces are limited.