Senator Nina Turner did not expect to reach the success she's reached after losing her mother and grandmother four months apart during her twenties. But choosing to persevere through one of the toughest moments in her life, the proud Cleveland, Ohio, native completed college and pursued politics.

Turner learned the importance of service while working in the office of the second black mayor of Cleveland — Mayor Michael R. White — which led her to continue the pursuit of local politics as a councilwoman. 

From local politician, to state senator, to national co-chair on Senator Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign, Turner told Blavity she is still "a homegirl from Cleveland, Ohio." She discussed her challenges, her triumphs, and some of the ways she stays sane balancing work and family. 

Turner has molded her life into a masterclass on overcoming obstacles, and models that sense of perseverance for her community as a public servant. “In local politics, you understand every decision you make is really connected to flesh and blood," Turner said. "People who have the greatest problems need you the most. So many people don't know how the system works, and if they do, they know this one thing: that it crushes them. They need somebody to be their advocate.”

Becoming the president of Our Revolution, a political group founded during Sanders' 2016 campaign, may have led her to hold the heavy responsibility of serving as his national co-chair for the 2020 presidential election.

Inspired by powerful black trailblazers in politics such as Shirley Chisholm and Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, Turner recognizes she stands on the shoulders of giants, and plans to turn their pain into her power as a politician. And although her beloved husband thinks she's the "best politician in the universe," she still faces the difficulties that come with being a black woman in political spaces. 

“As titled as I am, I still find myself as a black woman in America constantly having to prove myself," Turner said.  

In the countless rooms — of which she is the minority as both black and a woman, particularly with her colleagues in the U.S. — Turner notices her colleagues are often introduced as ‘senator’ while she is introduced as ‘Nina.’

“So for all the disrespect my ancestors received, the ones who died for me to be able to take an oath of office, first name ‘senator,’ last name ‘Turner,’" she said.