Cimajie Best was born and raised in Oakcliff, Texas and currently works for a strategic communications firm. Growing up in Southern Dallas and going to school in North Dallas, Best began to see the disparity between the two locations, such as the difference between shopping options. However, her activism began to grow in college.
Best attended Louisiana State University and was the President of the university’s NAACP chapter. Attending this university as a Black woman pushed Best into politics, as LSU’s confederate statues and location in the deep south made politics impossible to avoid. In addition to this, the unjust murders of Trayvon Martin and Mike Brown during her time as president of the University’s NAACP chapter turned her into the voice of the black student body on campus and pushed her into criminal justice reform.
Cimajie Best used her knowledge and experience with activism in college and turned it into Girl Power, a mentorship program for girls in inner-city Dallas that teaches them the powers of innovation and leadership. She cites this as one of her greatest accomplishments in her career to date, due to its impact on the young girls who take part in this program. She also says that while big moments are incredibly important, the small wins you have with people individually are equally memorable.
Best currently works for a strategic communications firm. She and her peers create narrative around important issues by helping candidates, businesses, and non-profits write speeches, talking points and platforms in the hopes of helping them best tell their story. Best says that narrative is incredibly important when working on an election, as the person who controls the narrative and has the facts can have the largest impact on important issues.
When asked who she considers to be her biggest role model, Best said she considers her mom to be her role model. Growing up in a single parent home, Best recalls her mom having to be Wonder Woman, to make sure her family had everything they needed. She worked tirelessly as a teacher and taught Best the power of hard work and responsibility.
Cimajie Best would advise any woman who wishes to pursue a career in activism to just do it, as activism is one of the most important things you can do. She also says that you should not worry about if your activism looks like everyone else’s. Activism is different for everyone who pursues it, and therefore is expressed in different ways. There is no blueprint. Best has certainly proved through her work in the political sphere that no blueprint is necessary to be an effective activist, and will no doubt continue to serve her community as effectively and diligently as she already has.
