In 1973, the U.S. Congress declared August 26th “Women’s Equality Day.” This date commemorates the passing of the19th Amendment on August 26, 1920, thereby granting women the right to vote — but not all women. It wasn’t until 1965 that the Voting Rights Act removed barriers for Women of Color. In celebration of this day, we spoke with six young women who are enacting change — and continuing to break down barriers. Here, we check in with Julia Childs Heyl and Evelynn Escobar-Thomas.
JULIA CHILDS HEYL
YOU STUDIED ENGLISH LITERATURE AT UCLA?
I focused on African-American literature, which opened me up to African-American political science and deepened my relationship to Black culture as a biracial Black woman. It was a beautiful time for me because I got to form my own identity, make a deeper connection to the Black community.
YOUR GRADUATE DEGREE IS IN SOCIAL WORK. HOW DO THOSE INTERSECT?
As I studied African American literature, I started taking more political science classes. That’s when I became a bit radicalized. It planted the seed of my wanting to be a part of the change. It felt like a natural segue with writing too. I’ve always been interested in people’s stories, and as a therapist you get to work how people own their own narrative, how they own their own healing process.
INITIALLY IN RESPONSE TO COVID, YOU STARTED DOING IG VIDEOS. WHY?
Because I work as a model and a writer and in mental health, I know many different people in different walks of life. I wanted to share more fully what I’m so passionate about, which is the betterment of the Black community—halting generational trauma and replacing it with generational resilience. The first step was to have these conversations on Instagram. I thought maybe it could spark a change.
There are barriers, particularly for Black folks, to accessing mental health services. Sometimes people need relief in that moment. They need to feel heard and seen. Usually when I share on Instagram, it’s a reflection of the work that I’ve done, too. It’s a way to call folks into the healing and maybe inspire others too, that you don’t have to be just one thing. We’re multidimensional beings and we can show up as such and create community together.
YOU’VE MENTIONED “BLACK JOY.” CAN YOU TALK MORE ABOUT THIS?
My work is personally driven and goes back to my own connection with Blackness, to grieving the loss of my Black father and the healing I’ve had to do. That’s important to say before we talk about Black joy, because I can’t ask folks to go to a place with me if I haven’t been there myself. The murder of George Floyd was this really intense shift. Before that, it felt like there wasn’t enough conversation about justice for the many ways that Black people are murdered in this country. But then when the conversation happened, it was only about the many different systems that kill us. I was thinking about my own ancestors and how important it is to find joy for our survival. It can be an act of resistance to celebrate Blackness, to speak about Black joy.
WHAT CAN WE DO TO ENGAGE FURTHER?
We really need to change the way we respond to each other’s humanity. I have seen many white folks start book clubs. I got many phone calls from white folks to see if I was okay. It’s a start, but ultimately I think where change really happens is when folks are willing to change their lives for the betterment of all people. Changing your career, risking your comfort, having those difficult conversations, having a seat at the table and refusing to do a project unless it’s led by a Black person. Pressing the organizations you work with to be not just diverse, but fully inclusive at a leadership level. It doesn’t only fall on white people, it also falls on people of color. And it also falls on lighter-skin Black people. It falls on cisgender Black people as well. Because it isn’t just about cis Black folks. It’s about all Black folks. It’s about intersectionality and listening to see who’s left out of the conversation. It was very moving to see all of the action around the passing of George Floyd. My hope is that we keep that same energy for Black trans folks. We gotta keep that same energy for them as well.
WHAT’S YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO MODELING?
I started modeling four years ago. I saw it as an opportunity to help financially support my dreams. The industry is becoming more inclusive, but it’s still getting there — in terms of body positivity too. In a recent shoot, the photos were not retouched, and I had cellulite in the photos. I was surprised to see my body kept in its complete, natural state. Even more surprising was how many women commented saying, “Thank you. This is normal.” It pushed me to continue being authentic. It also made me realize how far we have to go. The fact that seeing cellulite was a big moment for people kind of broke my heart.
WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR OTHER YOUNG WOMEN EAGER TO ENACT CHANGE?
My advice is to not feel like you can only be one thing. We need people who want to do everything in an integrated way, who want to work in different industries, because that’s how we create change and more connected communities. I also would say: Find a mentor. I am nothing without the many amazing women who mentored me through academia, through modeling and through writing. Don’t be afraid to ask someone to be your mentor. And if you are in the position to mentor someone, please do.
EVELYNN ESCOBAR-THOMAS
Evelynn Escobar-Thomas, 28, is originally from Northern Virginia, but is now based in Los Angeles. She’s a “multi-passionate creative” — social media consultant, model and founder of the intersectional womxn’s hiking club, Hike Clerb. Follow her on Instagram.
WHY DID YOU FOUND HIKE CLERB?
Hike Clerb is an intersectional womxn’s hiking group that I started in 2017 to change the narrative about the outdoors being this homogeneous place. I am not the typical picture of a hiker. I am a Black and Guatemalan woman who found herself not represented on the trails. I wanted to change this by creating a safe space for women, because going out and hiking solo is not safe, and by creating this community for women of color particularly, to help them along their healing journeys by reconnecting them with the land.
WHAT DOES INTERSECTIONALITY MEAN TO YOU?
Our lives are layered in the different experiences we are rooted in culturally and socioeconomically. For me, it came in as being a Black and Guatemalan woman. These are the intersections that I reside in. But I’m also an outdoorist. It all came together. I wanted to get more people, meeting at these different intersections, into the outdoors—adding this element to who they are.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO YOU TO IDENTIFY AS BOTH BLACK AND GUATEMALAN?
I choose to honor both identities because denying one would be inauthentic to my experience. I was raised in a household where I learned the cultural importance of being both, and both perspectives have really shaped my view of the world. Some people do just see me as Black if they don’t know who I am. And some people just see me as Latinx. But I feel it’s important to say both.
WHAT’S YOUR INNER DIALOGUE AROUND THIS?
It’s an ongoing conversation. It’s something that shapes every thought and idea that comes out of me. They are married to each other. I know I would not be the person that I am now if I did not have these two cultural identities that have influenced every decision and idea that I’ve had. Within the Black Lives Matter movement, we’re calling in our non-Black Latinx brothers and sisters to be more vocal about the experience that those of us who are Black and Latinx have had, and that erasure.
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT ERASURE?
There’s this common misbelief that Black or Afro-Latinx people don’t exist within the Latinx spectrum. And the truth of the matter is that there are Black and Afro-Latinx people in every country. They — we — are everywhere. But when we look at Latinex people, it has always been a very homogenous look, never including a dark-skin person. You’re always seeing the same picture. There is a lot of erasure as an obvious effect of colonialism. Latinx people had their own caste system back within the colonial days. This conversation is one that needs to be had and is obviously starting to be had.
YOU WORKED FOR THE OFFICE OF THE FIRST LADY. WHAT WAS THAT LIKE?
My first job out of college was interning in the office of the First Lady, Michelle Obama. The office that I was in was the Office of Scheduling and Advance. Basically, when she would go on a trip, I would help provide the brief materials so she knew the historical significance of the places she was going to, that sort of thing. I did that internship for the summer and it was such a surreal experience for me. Just seeing the First Dogs roaming around the White House or being able to sit in on some of the ceremonies. I still look back and think, wow, it’s really insane that I got to experience that.
ARE THEY OFFICIALLY CALLED THE FIRST DOGS?
I don’t know! Bo and Sunny. But we’re going to go with it.
YOU'RE KNOWN FOR YOUR STYLE. CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT CLOTHES MEAN TO YOU?
When it comes to femininity or how a woman should be dressing, I do not fit within those molds or even listen to those dialogues as any rule of how to live my life. The way that I dress is just the extension of who I am creatively. I definitely express myself in a more relaxed and, I guess, masculine way. I do mix and match pieces that maybe are more feminine with things that are more masculine, but I prefer baggy and more utility. I like that nonbinary attachment to clothing.
HOW IMPORTANT DO YOU THINK SOCIAL MEDIA IS IN THE SCOPE OF SOCIAL JUSTICE WORK?
It’s at least a starting point for a lot of people. It’s giving people the ability to go deeper down the wormhole, getting them to think about things that they might not have otherwise even considered.
WHERE CAN FOLKS TAKE THEIR ACTIVISM BEYOND JUST POSTING ON SOCIAL MEDIA?
There are so many different ways, whether it’s joining an organization, starting your own organization, donating money to causes or donating your time. For a lot of people, it’s being sparked by social media, which is a really great thing and helping us keep the conversation alive.
WHAT ADVICE MIGHT YOU GIVE YOUNGER WOMEN?
Obviously, I didn’t just wake up one day and become this person. There has been a lot of work — soul searching, listening to myself — and also a lot of discomfort. Growth is very uncomfortable, and I’m still learning and growing every single day and it is still uncomfortable. The most important thing to do is to just continue sitting in that discomfort and pushing through those sorts of obstacles. They’re going to happen and they have to happen in order for you to get to the other side. Just keep going.
Evelynn’s discusses intersectionality with Eryn Danielle, one of our other interviewees, on Eryn’s Instagram Allies Doing Work.