Stephanie Chang Became 1st Asian American State Lawmaker the Old Fashioned Way

State Rep. Stephanie Chang

Stephanie Chang became the first Asian-American woman ever to serve in the Michigan State Legislature when she was elected in 2014 to Michigan's 6th District which includes Ecorse, River Rouge and part of the city of Detroit.

Born to Taiwanese immigrants, the activist campaigned hard the old fashion way -- knocking on every door in her district, twice, she says in an interview with Elle Magazine:

Ultimately, I decided that running would allow me to take the issues I was working on to the next level, to try to make a much greater impact. I still don't necessarily see this as a career change; it's one more way I can try to address some of the issues that my community faces.

It turns out I love knocking on doors and talking to voters everyday! I personally knocked on every door in our whole district twice. It was great. It was really uplifting, and I think it propelled me forward. It gave me a much better appreciation for what challenges people were dealing with in their lives and at home.

Obviously, there were definitely moments where I would get frustrated or just be physically exhausted, but having Sean, my husband, there to support me was so crucial. And supporters make a huge difference. I remember I was out once and I happened to see this negative mailer that one of my opponents had just sent out. I saw it in someone's door. It's very upsetting. I shed a few tears, and, literally the next minute, this car drove by and a bunch of supporters shouted, "Hey Stephanie! We've got your back." It immediately reminded me that I was doing this for them, no matter what people wrote about me.

Since getting elected, I haven't experienced outright blatant sexism, but women make up less than 25 percent of the legislature, which means that there are just fewer of us to bring up the issues and perspectives that we need to. That's our job, and that's okay, but it's always a little bit of an uphill climb to let people know what those perspectives are. I've found you have to say it over and over.