Candace ValenzuelaVerified account

(2/7) And that luck factor is just that on an individual level. In aggregate, though, certain groups having greater instances of "bad luck" is the portrait of systemic oppression. And the data bears this out in everything from employment to heart conditions to maternal mortality.

(3/7) Minimally, we can make it so that all hardworking people are "lucky" enough to see the fruits of their labors by making sure they have access to a clean air and water, safe schools, affordable housing and healthcare.

(4/7) That I have survived so much in my life doesn't make of greater character, tenacity, or intellect. I have no entitlement to leadership either. No individual should. But groups do deserve a seat at the table. Black and white. Young and old. Rich and poor.

(5/7) The disparities in the representation is what leads to the dangerous mythos of the self-made man, or the idea that a lawyer is inherently better human than a bartender or that a crooked-scion and pseudo-businessman is better equipped to lead than any woman.

(6/7) My conviction to serve is driven both by deep gratitude for those who made a better path for my work and by the urgency to maintain and expand that path for my children and their peers.