Linqua Franqa

Mariah Parker is part of a new wave of young women of color entering politics. She first made headlines after being sworn in as an Athens-Clarke County Commissioner, at age 26, with a her hand on a copy of The Autobiography of Malcolm X held by her mother. Photos of her taking the oath went viral, highlighting the growing numbers of millennial Black women making their voices heard in local politics nationwide.

Mariah is also openly queer, a hip hop artist (her stage name is Linqua Franqa), a PhD candidate in linguistics at the University of Georgia where she is also a graduate teaching assistant in the department of language and literacy education, and community organizer dedicated to transformative politics and civic engagement. As County Commissioner, she is focusing on creating economic stability and racial justice as well as criminal justice reform and raising the minimum wage.

Between the release of a critically-acclaimed debut album and her tight election to the county commission, Parker has garnered the attention of CNN, The New York Times, Teen Vogue, National Public Radio, Al Jazeera, The Nation, Afropunk, The Root, The Bitter Southerner, Performer Magazine and others for her outspoken commitment to racial and economic justice and her electrifying live performances and presentations, which call audiences to self-reflection and critical action in their lives and their communities.

Mariah is also co-host of the Waiting on Reparations, a show on iHeartRadio about Hip Hop and politics where they explore the history of public policy and its impacts on Hip Hop life; what Hip Hop culture tells us about our political reality; and the role of Hip Hop in shaping our political future.