- Brittany S.
- Wednesday, March 30, 2022
I had the honor of chatting with Richland County Council Vice Chair, Jesica Mackey, (District 9) about her leadership, community, and the importance of Women's History Month.
Questions were created by Alex Biscoll and Brittany Smith
1. Congratulations on becoming Vice Chair of Richland County Council! How does it feel taking on this role?
“It makes me very excited. It’s a good time for new leadership in Richland County. This starts my second year on Richland County Council. To be able to serve as Vice Chair in my second year, I feel is a huge honor. We have five new council members who have come on board last year. We work well together. We mesh well with the current members that are on Council. I’m excited. I think it’s a good time for us to get a lot of things accomplished, and really look to improve services for our residents. “
2. What inspired you to run for Richland County Council?
“I ran in a special election for the District. I didn’t run with everyone else when they did normal filing and competed in primaries. It so happened that the special election occurred in the height of COVID-19. COVID started earlier in the year of 2020. I jumped in and decided to file in August. By that time, I was full on at home working remote. I have two young kids. They were doing school virtually. Everything with George Floyd happened in the media. There was a lot that we all were just hit with square on the face that we couldn’t ignore. I think we were put in this position where we're at home and you didn’t have as many distractions. We weren’t out and about running errands, going different places. You were at home. You were able to sit in it and absorb it.
With all of that, I thought a lot more about the future, my children- what they would experience, and about where I was living. That coupled with this special election, it was just the timing of it. I felt like, “You know what, I’ve seen a lot of things about our County that could be improved…”. At that time, we weren’t opened back up yet. I didn’t know what was going to happen or how we were going to come out of the other side of COVID. I knew that I couldn’t sit here anymore and be the person that complains about it and not do anything. That’s really why I decided to run."
3. What do you love most about your community?
“I live in Northeast Columbia, District 9. I love the Northeast. The Northeast is so diverse. That’s what I really love about my community. There are many, many different races, ethnicities, religions, and even backgrounds. We have military families. There are a lot of people who are native to Columbia, SC. There’s a lot of people who have just moved here and decided to move to the Northeast. So, there’s so much diversity, and there’s tons of young families. Like I said, I have two young kids. I just love that there’s diversity. You can just find so many people that are raising families in Columbia and are just looking for better opportunity.”
4. How important do you think it is to have Women represented in leadership roles throughout the community?
“I think it’s very important. I have a daughter who is 8 years old and having positive strong female role models is important for young girls. I think it’s important for them to see who they can be when they grow up. When you look at the highest level, looking at Kamala Harris as the Vice President, that’s an amazing example for a young girl to see that. Not just hear “Oh you can be” but to see someone do it is important. I also think it’s important to have women in leadership roles because women understand issues differently than men. We stand up and fight issues that impact us differently than men. We understand, oftentimes, how to get things done sometimes better than men. Women naturally multitask and juggle a lot in their normal life. They naturally come into situations trying to figure out how can I solve this; how can I get it done. I think that those are useful tools to have when we’re trying to create communities that are going to be long-term sustainable communities for our children. “
5. The Carolina Panorama mentions that you are the youngest African American woman to serve on Richland County Council. What are your thoughts and feelings when you reflect on this accomplishment?
“Yes, I am the youngest African American to serve on Richland County Council. I think it shows where we are in the county. I talked earlier about living in my district, it being diverse, and having young families move in. More and more you see younger people getting involved in politics, in their communities, and in activism. I think it’s a great thing to see young people involved. I’m glad that I can be one of those young people in my county to step up, want to be a leader, and help create that change.”
6. What does Women's History Month mean to you?
“Growing up, I don’t recall celebrating Women's History month. I hate to say it, I don’t know the actual history of when it started. But now that I’m older Women History Month means a lot. Like I talked about my daughter earlier having that representation. But now having a month where we celebrate and acknowledge the role that women have played, and the history of looking at our county and state- that’s amazing. Often times those stories aren't told. We don’t get to hear those stories in our classroom. We don’t get to hear those stories when we just pick up a local magazine. To have a month where we want to really acknowledge women’s contributions, it means a lot to me.
Since I’ve been in office, I have made it my goal too, to make sure I go out and find women that should be recognized and celebrated in Richland County. There are a lot that their stories haven’t been told, and they have played a tremendous part in our history. I definitely think that it is something that we should all continue to do. And look for women and make sure we are telling their stories."
7. Who’s your “Shero”?
“My younger self, my Shero was Oprah Winfrey. I think growing up to see that Oprah wasn’t necessarily a model or a beauty queen; she was what you saw on tv. A professional working woman that was able to relate to any and everyone. Someone who was able to tell a story that you could relate to. Oprah still is amazing, has accomplished so much, and has opened so many doors.
Now, being older, with reading and educating myself more, and understanding more about politics in general-- Shirley Chisholm is my Shero. She is someone that I don’t feel is acknowledged or talked about when we talk about women’s history and all that she has done. She really was the first. Before anyone else, there was Shirley Chisholm. She has a documentary that I watched that shows how she really was "Unbossed". It wasn’t just a slogan or motto, that’s how she lived her life. To think about even back then, for a woman to have that much confidence. To carry herself in that manner and not be afraid to walk in these rooms or places women never were. That is the true definition of Shero."
8. What advice do you have for other women breaking barriers?
"I say keep going. It’s never going to be easy. Nothing that is worth having never is. If you believe in it in your head and your heart, keep going."
9. What have you read recently that is written by your favorite woman author(s)?
"Lead from the Outside" by Stacey Abrams
"The Memo" by Minda Harts
Chisholm '72
Chisholm '72
Lead from the Outside
The Memo
Want to dive into even more community-oriented topics? Check out more great civic engagement resources and recommendations from our staff, here.