Today we’d like to introduce you to Anita Alexander.
Hi Anita, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Your story is such a big question, when I think about who I really am, it’s someone who wants to make a difference and live a life of helping others.
I have been an advocate from a young age. I think most social justice folks can trace it back to childhood. I remember being in elementary school and on earth day I got my friends to go around with trash bags picking up trash in the neighborhood. Who knew at that time that 20 years later I’d intern for a climate advocacy organization, but passions follow us through life and can often be tied to the core of who we are.
I didn’t go to college until my mid-20s. As a young mom who came from an unstable background, I was looking for stability. I figured I’d get a “good government job” (back when that was a thing) with decent pay, holidays, and weekends off. Funny because, I don’t think anyone would describe government jobs that way these days.
College became the door for me to put my passions into action in ways that I didn’t know existed. I found political science. I loved studying history, and social policy, and I started unpacking how so many things that I thought were just people’s personal failures were also a part of bigger, systemic issues.
Through internships , and exposure I discovered advocacy as a career path, and fell in love with non profit work. I feel lucky that over the years I have had the opportunity to make a difference in my state, my city, and the lives of young adults.
I’m proud of my identity as a Black woman and how it shapes my advocacy, my passions, and the work I do in my community. My involvement in the Black Lives Matter movement pushed me to give public comment at my local city council for the first time, and years later, my friends and I founded Topeka Black Girls Gather to create a space where Black women can build community and simply be themselves. That same pride in my culture and community is reflected in my love of horses. I’m the proud owner of Harley, a nine-year-old Paint mare. We’re members of Top City Riders, a riding club that has been creating opportunities for young people to see themselves represented in Black cowboy culture From park cleanups to organizing Topeka’s first Black rodeo, this work celebrates our history and reminds the next generation that they belong.
All of these efforts reflect who I am and the kind of community I’m proud to help build.
I’m someone who has always sought community and understood the importance of that. I consider myself a Voting rights Advocate, community builder, and Cowgirl.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I grew up quickly. I moved out of my mom’s house around 15-16, had my first daughter at 17, and her sisters at 18 and 21. Growing up poor and then struggling as a young mom with a low income, being broke was a massive obstacle. It wasn’t until years later that I realized how much poverty trauma can really affect a person. As a young adult I was figuring out things that people around me had never navigated. Sometimes I think about how easily my story could have been like so many others: young mom, tough life, never made it out. But my kids have always been a driving force in my story, in my resilience and perseverance. I remember thinking “I have to be successful, there’s no other option” because of them.
I didn’t have a lot of resources but I had a lot of determination. They will say “remember when mom had 3 jobs”? I did at one point have 3 jobs. I was working as a legislative assistant at the state capitol, teaching fitness classes at a gym in the evenings, and on the weekends I drove out to the Casino and worked in guest services. During that time I was still going to food banks to try to make ends meet.
As you know, we’re big fans of Loud Light. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Through my work at the legislature, I met Davis Hammet, a grassroots lobbyist and advocate, who at that time was still fairly new to Kansas. Just 2 years prior he started a Non-profit called “Loud Light”, focusing on voting rights and advancing youth advocacy in the state. This was one of those moments that became part of a bigger story. Davis offered me a position running programs. I would be Loud Light’s 2nd ever employee. It was a leap of faith, it didn’t promise stability or longevity, it was one guy, one very small organization, but I loved the mission, and the chance to get paid for direct advocacy was a dream.
Over the years Loud Light has grown into a powerful changemaking organization. We now have a full staff, a state wide presence, and national recognition for our work. We help young people understand how governing systems work, how decisions impact their lives, and how they can be part of changing those systems.
Loud light is different from many orgs because we do direct peer to peer advocacy. We work with young people, educate them so that they can educate and inspire their peers. We don’t show up talking about what young people need to do, we take lead from those young adults, we ask them what is needed and then teach them how to do it.
We run College Fellowship programs, and local organizing programs. We break down big topics and create information people can understand through videos, events, and explainers. We teach people how to be active and informed.
I’m especially proud of the community and culture we’ve built around this work. We’ve helped thousands of Kansans become more engaged in the democratic process and supported hundreds of young people in developing the skills and confidence to become leaders in their own communities.
At its core, Loud Light is about helping people recognize their own power and making sure they have a meaningful opportunity to use it. We are investing in a generation of Kansans who will continue shaping our state long after any single moment is over.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
My advice to those just starting out is to be relentless, you can’t fail if you don’t give up. Success won’t always come easily, and the journey won’t always be roses. I faced so many obstacles, and experienced lots of setbacks. I learned that those moments are opportunities to build resilience and learn new ways to keep moving forward. I tell people to never underestimate the power of showing up, and the reputation you build along the way. People don’t forget how you treat them, treat people well. Those things will take you far. Most importantly, find things to look forward to and celebrate the happiness along the way, find joy in the process, not just the destination.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Loudlight.org
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anita-alexander-a8a47b2a7/
