For some of us we are only familiar with a few lawyers: Benjamin Crump, Marilyn Mosby, Loretta Lynch, and Phaedra Parks. However there are more black attorneys than you would think who are actively hitting the ground running to bring about change and fight for justice within their respective legal systems. What may come as a surprise to you, is that no matter what state you live in, you have an elected official known as a state attorney general who should be fighting for change and justice in the state in which you live. If you don’t know your’s, don’t know what they do, and don’t know why you should care, keep reading.

Your state attorney general is an elected official, meaning they are elected by popular election. Which means your vote counts in choosing your state’s highest, and in most instances most powerful, attorney. This person serves a four year term unless you’re in Vermont where they serve a two year term.The job of the state attorney general includes but is not limited to:

Serve as the chief legal advisor to the state government and the state’s chief law enforcement officer
In some states, serve as the head of the state department of justice
Issue opinions to guide legal actions of public agencies
Handle state and federal criminal appeals
Investigate consumer complaints and take legal action on behalf of consumers
Investigate and sue lenders for consumer fraud

That’s just a short list of what their job is . This list still shows just how important this office is and why it’s important to make sure we are represented properly on this level of government. Out of the 50 states and six territories there are only three black state attorney generals: Kamala D. Harris (California), Karl A. Racine ( District of Columbia), and Calude E. Walker (Virgin Islands) . These three attorneys have taken on the hard job of not asking for permission and fighting their way to the attorney general’s office. They fight for change and fairness for people of color in their respective territories. There are more than these three out here who are doing the work and affecting the change. Is it that we just aren’t voting for them? If so, lets change that.

So here’s what you can do:

Make sure you’re registered to vote in your state
Look to see who your state attorney general is.If you live in Indiana, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania , Utah, Vermont, Washington, or West Virginia; learn more about the candidates running for election for attorney general in your state and make your voice heard.
Donate to organizations like National Black Law Students Association, Let’s support the future state attorney general’s as they power through and prepare to pick up the torch where we will leave off.
And then like Blavity on Facebook and tell us other great people you know who stopped asking for permission and are changing the world one city at a time.

So here’s what you can do:

READ NEXT: Who is President Obama going to nominate to the SCOTUS

nblsa

Get relevant content delivered to you once a week