Meet The Millennial Women Shaping Politics

Update: “It’s so hard to be blamed for something you didn’t do personally but was falsely done in the name of your religion.” That is exactly what prompted one Muslim woman to put up the Facebook post that recently went viral, turning her into an unintentional activist. She, along with the two other women in this week’s update, are bringing "minority" issues to the larger realm of American politics. Click through to meet the woman promoting Black Lives Matter to the political world, the woman bringing Latinos to the GOP and vice versa, and the Muslim activist who is using social media to counter hate with peace and kindness, in this 12th installment of Fusion’s “30 Under 30.”

The 2016 election feels like the official Election of the Millennial Generation. And it’s not just because certain politicians are working hard to attract young voters.

Young people — and particularly young women — are involved not just in supporting candidates with their votes, they're actually key players behind the scenes. Fusion is bringing these influencers center stage, with a new, all-women, all-political “30 Under 30” video list.

In the site's rundown of the project, Rebekah Dryden, the director of elections coverage, discusses the importance of not limiting the pool to those working within the political machine.

“We didn’t want to limit our roster to campaign staffers and Washington types. Those people are hugely important, of course. But there are other people in the game, too. People working in outside groups — or even getting elected themselves. And, of course, there are incredibly influential people working entirely outside the system. For example, the #BlackLivesMatter movement has unquestionably pushed the Democratic candidates for president to address social justice and policing in ways that they simply weren’t before.”

If you think it sounds like a project that can't be done justice in just a few videos, you’re right. Fusion will be releasing the videos in bursts of two or three per week over the next few months, so you can check back weekly to see the next set of incredible women.