Rysheema Dixon was elected to Wilmington, DE City Council in 2016 at the age of 29. Hear about how her close call with death impacted her thought process, and the hurdles she had to overcome as a woman of color entering politics.

2:00 – What was your first thought about running for office?

3:10 – How did you go about coalescing your plan to run?

5:15 – Who told you not to run?

6:20 – “I had to tell myself I’m ready no matter who tells me I”m not.”

6:40 – Did the people tell you that you weren’t ready have their own self-interest at play?

7:20 – Take me to the time you didn’t think you were going to win.

9:00 – What did you tell yourself to keep going?

10:00 – Rysheema speaks about her background.

14:25 – What’s the biggest challenge you’ve overcome?

15:36 – Rysheema discusses how a roof literally collapsing over her impacted her.

18:15 – What would you say to a young person thinking about getting involved in politics?

20:35 – How would you tailor your insight or advice specifically for a woman interested in politics, and what hurdles did you face that a guy would not?

22:20 – What’s a personal habit you attribute to your success?

23:20 – What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned since being in office?

26:10 – If you had a magic wand, what would you do to heal America?

20:30 – What do you say to a member of your Party that questions why you want to reach across the aisle?

31:50 – Do you think an added benefit to young people getting engaged is working across Party lines?

34:25 – What book had the biggest impact on you?

35:15 – What is a message you would like to get across to your constituents or your Country?