Pearl Ricks, a District 23 candidate for Louisiana’s state House.Photo:Pearl Ricks
Pearl Ricks
Pearl Ricksis weeks away from potentially being elected as Louisiana’s first openly LGBTQ+ state lawmaker, if they can rise to the top of a crowded field in the October primary election to seek a final victory in the November general.After Mississippi elected its first queer state lawmaker in early September, all eyes turned to Louisiana, now distinguished as the last of the 50 U.S. states to have never achieved a long overdue milestone for LGBTQ+ representation.But Ricks, who is trans and intersex, isn’t focused on the headline-generating nature of their campaign. “It’s not just about Louisiana finally getting its first queer legislator,” Ricks, 33, tells PEOPLE. “I didn’t even know all of that until after I decided to run.“They continue: “Yes, I’m a queer candidate, but that doesn’t mean I’m only focused on queer issues. When we look at the overlapping of needs, it’s all the same thing. Access to a quality education improves things for everybody. Access to affordable housing improves things for everyone. Being able to ensure gun safety and the creation of a climate change reparations fund, that’s an improvement of life for everybody.“Pearl Ricks, who uses they/them pronouns, is vying to become Louisiana’s first LGBTQ+ state lawmaker.Raegan LabatThe district in which Ricks is running, District 23, is a new one, created as a result of New Orleans' rapid growth, which gave it an additional seat in the state House.Running for a new seat, and launching a political campaign for the first time, might seem daunting, but Ricks views it as a continuation of the work they began years ago.Currently the executive director for the Reproductive Justice Action Collective, Ricks also has a long history of activism and social justice work. That political experience, coupled with their own life experiences, makes them an ideal candidate for constituents, they tell PEOPLE.“I don’t have to be told that LGBTQ folks need protections. It wasn’t the past three or four or five or 10 years that this came up for me. This is something that is ingrained in who I am,” Ricks says. “I never had to be told that locking people up and treating them poorly and putting young people in adult prisons and all of these things are bad. These are not new conversations.“Ricks says that, because of their activism, they’re used to criticism and the attacks that come with running for office — but they don’t view that as an uphill battle.“I’ve been dealing with people who dox since before they called it doxxing, you know what I mean? Just having those experiences and making it through to the other side and knowing that stillness doesn’t guarantee safety, I want to keep going for it,” they say.Ricks continues: “I feel like when people see follow-through and when they see [someone who is] unafraid, then they’re like, ‘Okay, let’s try it.’ We already know what doesn’t work, and I feel like a lot of people want to see something new.“Activist and Louisiana state House candidate Pearl Ricks.Nkechi ChibuezeAsked about specific legislative goals, Ricks is quick to offer up a list of priorities, including affordable housing, environmental protections confronting a homeowners' insurance crisis, advancing non-discrimination practices that protect the LGBTQ+ community and those who are formerly incarcerated, and ensuring Louisianans can access high-quality education.“I’m already in a protection mode role for my community. I was just raised that way, honestly, cooking in the church. My family loved a good church ministry, so it means we were in there. Being active for the people around me,” Ricks says.They continue: “There’s a huge overlap in that Venn diagram of protecting myself and protecting other people. I can feel the pain that folks are going through.“Pearl Ricks speaks at a reproductive rights event.Pearl RicksRicks also connects with voters on a deeper level. They’ve worked in caregiving, as a home health aide, they’ve done community organizing and juggled multiple jobs along with more creative pursuits, as a musical artist. They know what it’s like to struggle, to fight. And even, Ricks says, to miscarry.“I’ve had to sit and heal from a resentment that I held where my sadness can only go so far because of the state of the world … and thinking that this is the type of world that I would’ve been raising my child in, and how harmful and painful that could be for me and how harmful and painful that could be for them,” they say.But even after the trauma — or maybe, because of it — Ricks says they now view parenting and caregiving in a new light.“A part of me is like, ‘Well, I have this care. I have this surplus of care. I have this surplus of protective energy. I have this reservoir, and I want to use it for something.'” That something just might be a seat in the Louisiana Legislature.But more than anything, they say, they have the drive to run for office, and the energy to serve.“People tell me they don’t have the energy or the desire, sometimes not the capacity, to be in the Legislature,” they tell PEOPLE. “That makes perfect sense, but I have the energy, I have the desire, I have the capacity, so I can take this role on. I’ll do this. I’m down with it.”
Pearl Ricksis weeks away from potentially being elected as Louisiana’s first openly LGBTQ+ state lawmaker, if they can rise to the top of a crowded field in the October primary election to seek a final victory in the November general.
After Mississippi elected its first queer state lawmaker in early September, all eyes turned to Louisiana, now distinguished as the last of the 50 U.S. states to have never achieved a long overdue milestone for LGBTQ+ representation.
But Ricks, who is trans and intersex, isn’t focused on the headline-generating nature of their campaign. “It’s not just about Louisiana finally getting its first queer legislator,” Ricks, 33, tells PEOPLE. “I didn’t even know all of that until after I decided to run.”
They continue: “Yes, I’m a queer candidate, but that doesn’t mean I’m only focused on queer issues. When we look at the overlapping of needs, it’s all the same thing. Access to a quality education improves things for everybody. Access to affordable housing improves things for everyone. Being able to ensure gun safety and the creation of a climate change reparations fund, that’s an improvement of life for everybody.”
Pearl Ricks, who uses they/them pronouns, is vying to become Louisiana’s first LGBTQ+ state lawmaker.Raegan Labat
Raegan Labat
The district in which Ricks is running, District 23, is a new one, created as a result of New Orleans’ rapid growth, which gave it an additional seat in the state House.
Running for a new seat, and launching a political campaign for the first time, might seem daunting, but Ricks views it as a continuation of the work they began years ago.
Currently the executive director for the Reproductive Justice Action Collective, Ricks also has a long history of activism and social justice work. That political experience, coupled with their own life experiences, makes them an ideal candidate for constituents, they tell PEOPLE.
“I don’t have to be told that LGBTQ folks need protections. It wasn’t the past three or four or five or 10 years that this came up for me. This is something that is ingrained in who I am,” Ricks says. “I never had to be told that locking people up and treating them poorly and putting young people in adult prisons and all of these things are bad. These are not new conversations.”
Ricks says that, because of their activism, they’re used to criticism and the attacks that come with running for office — but they don’t view that as an uphill battle.
“I’ve been dealing with people who dox since before they called it doxxing, you know what I mean? Just having those experiences and making it through to the other side and knowing that stillness doesn’t guarantee safety, I want to keep going for it,” they say.
Ricks continues: “I feel like when people see follow-through and when they see [someone who is] unafraid, then they’re like, ‘Okay, let’s try it.’ We already know what doesn’t work, and I feel like a lot of people want to see something new.”
Activist and Louisiana state House candidate Pearl Ricks.Nkechi Chibueze
Nkechi Chibueze
Asked about specific legislative goals, Ricks is quick to offer up a list of priorities, including affordable housing, environmental protections confronting a homeowners' insurance crisis, advancing non-discrimination practices that protect the LGBTQ+ community and those who are formerly incarcerated, and ensuring Louisianans can access high-quality education.
“I’m already in a protection mode role for my community. I was just raised that way, honestly, cooking in the church. My family loved a good church ministry, so it means we were in there. Being active for the people around me,” Ricks says.
They continue: “There’s a huge overlap in that Venn diagram of protecting myself and protecting other people. I can feel the pain that folks are going through.”
Pearl Ricks speaks at a reproductive rights event.Pearl Ricks
Ricks also connects with voters on a deeper level. They’ve worked in caregiving, as a home health aide, they’ve done community organizing and juggled multiple jobs along with more creative pursuits, as a musical artist. They know what it’s like to struggle, to fight. And even, Ricks says, to miscarry.
“I’ve had to sit and heal from a resentment that I held where my sadness can only go so far because of the state of the world … and thinking that this is the type of world that I would’ve been raising my child in, and how harmful and painful that could be for me and how harmful and painful that could be for them,” they say.
But even after the trauma — or maybe, because of it — Ricks says they now view parenting and caregiving in a new light.
“A part of me is like, ‘Well, I have this care. I have this surplus of care. I have this surplus of protective energy. I have this reservoir, and I want to use it for something.'” That something just might be a seat in the Louisiana Legislature.
But more than anything, they say, they have the drive to run for office, and the energy to serve.
“People tell me they don’t have the energy or the desire, sometimes not the capacity, to be in the Legislature,” they tell PEOPLE. “That makes perfect sense, but I have the energy, I have the desire, I have the capacity, so I can take this role on. I’ll do this. I’m down with it.”
source: people.com
