Why Answering the Call? It challenged me to face my insecurities.

by Kiyomi Kowalski

I began Answering the Call in the middle of my run for school board in the Las Virgenes Unified School District in California. While I had already made the decision to step up and run for office, I still couldn’t shake the feeling that I was unqualified, or perhaps even unelectable. Answering the Call pushed me to do the critical inner work that so often goes overlooked in politics. It forced me to confront my fear and to examine why I had these feelings of insecurity about my candidacy in the first place. It gave me both the clarity and confidence to run a campaign I could be proud of.

From day one, I found myself wrestling with the viability of my own candidacy. After all, a person of color had never been elected in Las Virgenes and I intended to run for office as an unapologetic Black woman. Even still, what I didn’t realize at the time was the extent to which the unconscious beliefs I held about myself were actually undermining my efforts; how my own internalized white supremacy had convinced me that I was undeserving of holding elected office in a predominantly white community. There was this prevailing view that you had to wait your turn, but for people like me, that turn never seemed to come.

The inner work I did at Answering the Call forced me to examine the source of my cynicism and to scrutinize the reasons why I felt that my perspective was unimportant. In the end, it took NPLA staff members Brendon Mills and Max Klau—two white men—to push me to see how the limits of what I assumed was possible, were actually products of my own internalized white supremacy. The seeds of racism and misogyny had rooted themselves in me and convinced me that I was undeserving. Max and Brendon challenged me to stop making excuses and to lean into the capable, powerful woman that I’ve always known I am. 

I was more than qualified, and as a Black woman in a predominantly white community, my voice was necessary and essential.

Answering the Call helped truly embrace my run for office and it provided me with a supportive community that’s been behind me throughout my journey in politics. It helped me work to lower the barrier of entry into politics that women of color often face, and it reminded me that my voice matters. 

I grew up surrounded by inequity and injustice. And, like so many American women of color, was drawn to politics because of the possibility to affect change in my community. It wasn’t until I did Answering the Call though, that I was forced to confront my own internalized negative beliefs. Without the inner work I did alongside my ATC cohort, I could not have run for office as confidently or unapologetically as I did.

If you’ve served our country, you have what it takes to be successful in elected office. For women and people of color, it often takes a lot more convincing before we feel ready to step up and run. New Politics Leadership Academy provided the space to examine my motivations for running. It provided me with a supportive community that advocated for me. 

If you’re a service veteran who isn’t sure whether you’re qualified to run for office, I urge you to apply for Answering the Call. You’ll gain access to an incredible support system and develop the inner confidence you never even realized you needed to answer the call of service once again. Just like I did.