Attica Scott

I definitely attribute my success to my faith. I'm able to put things in perspective, and I understand when there's a calling on my life. The calling to serve in political office was a calling on my life, and at the time I was elected, I was the only Black woman serving in our state legislature here in Kentucky. There hadn't been a Black woman in almost 20 years, so for four years, I was the only one - the only Black woman or woman of color, period. I was able to do that because my faith gave me that strength and that ability to carry that responsibility.

The best advice I was given when I was running for office is to always make time for yourself. Whether you're knocking on doors, making phone calls, raising money, going to events, whatever the case may be, carve out at least one day a week where you are focused on your emotional and mental health, your physical health, your spiritual health - all of that. Just make sure that you focus on you. I've seen so many women who burn out because sometimes they forget that. Even as parents, as moms, sometimes we can forget that and lose ourselves in our kids. I remember also being told when I first had kids that they are a part of your life, they are not your life, because we also run the risk of dictating their life to them, which isn't fair to them either.

Develop a strong support system that is intergenerational and multi-generational. Have some folks who are older than you that you can learn from their wisdom and go to and ask, you know, have you been through this, and what was that like for you? And have some women who are younger, who can keep you grounded and make sure that you don't lose yourself in the race to become whatever it is that you're trying to become. Have some younger women who are saying, hey, wait, remember us, don't forget about us, don't leave us behind.

From the political perspective, even though I'm not in office, I continue to provide civic education videos for people so they can understand how government and politics works. I would say the biggest challenge right now is people being unaware, people not knowing how government works, or not understanding politics. I feel like that's the biggest challenge because it increases our divisions, and I believe if people understood more, if they knew more, we would see more commonality with one another and be able to connect across differences. I think differences are important - that's what makes us unique - but they don't have to divide us. The biggest opportunity is being in conversation and community with one another. That's how we get there - through education and understanding, we can reach the opportunity of being in conversation and community with each other.

The values most important to me are respect, love, honor, commitment, and truth telling.