Black women have been involved in American socio-political issues and advocating for the community since the American Civil War era through organizations, clubs, community-based social services, and advocacy. Black women are currently underrepresented in the United States in both elected offices and in policy made by elected officials. Although data shows that women do not run for office in large numbers when compared to men, Black women have been involved in issues concerning identity, human rights, child welfare, and misogynoir within the political dialogue for decades. Women in government are preferred by ethnic minorities over their White colleagues. Researchers studying black politics have discovered that White voters have prejudices towards Black candidates. Descriptive representation is important for Black voters. Black women's positional behavior and ideology are influenced by a distinctive Black female consciousness. Support for Black women candidates among Black women may result from a prioritization of racial concerns above gendered interests. History Black women's suffrage, voting rights and racism The U.S. women’s rights movements involved many Black women suffragists who were simultaneously fighting for the abolishment of slavery and women's rights. Formerly enslaved and free Black women like Mary Church Terrell, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Harriet Tubman, Mary Ann Shadd Cary, and Maria W. Stewart advocated for their rights by involving themselves in women’s rights gatherings in the 1850s and 1860s. At the time, black women felt sidelined by both black men and white suffragettes who did not consider their plight to gain voting rights an important issue. As a result of this exclusion, black suffragettes were forced to march separately from white suffragette marches, and both Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony largely ignored contributions of black suffragettes. It was at the 1851 Ohio Women's Convention at Akron that abolitionist and preacher Sojourner Truth gave the speech commonly referred to as, 'Ain't I a Woman?' Truth was the only black woman in attendance at the conference and delivered the speech from the steps of the Old Stone Church, on the second day of the convention. The most widely-circulated version of her speech, titled "Ain't I a Woman," and was transcribed by Frances Dana Barker Gage, a feminist writer and attendee of the convention. This version contained stereotypical speech of Southern Slaves, though Truth was from New York and Jersey Dutch was her first language, and other details that are suspected to be highly exaggerated. Both recent historians