The so-called “Black Girl Magic” phenomenon, once heralded as a groundbreaking wave of Black female political leadership, has unraveled spectacularly, exposing a troubling pattern of failure, scandal, and deflection. Figures like Marilyn Mosby, Fani Willis, Letitia James, Jasmine Crockett, Kim Gardner, Cori Bush, Tishaura Jones, LaToya Cantrell, and Kim Foxx (mistakenly called “Kim Bass” in some circles) were propped up as symbols of progress, allegedly selected not for their qualifications but for their race and gender. Now, their collective downfall—marked by electoral routs, investigations, and resignations—reveals the hollowness of this narrative and the dangers of identity-driven politics.
A Trail of Scandals and Defeats
The rapid ascent of these women was fueled by progressive hype, but their tenures have been defined by chaos and controversy:
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Marilyn Mosby, former Baltimore State’s Attorney, was convicted in 2023 for perjury and mortgage fraud, tarnishing her image as a reformist prosecutor. Her defense? Claiming the charges were a racist attack, despite clear evidence of financial misconduct.
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Fani Willis, Fulton County District Attorney, has embarrassed herself with a messy Trump election interference case, clouded by allegations of an improper relationship with a subordinate. Her insistence that criticism stems from her race and gender only underscores her refusal to own her mistakes.
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Letitia James, New York Attorney General, has turned her office into a partisan weapon, chasing headlines with relentless probes into political foes like Donald Trump. Her polarizing tactics have alienated voters, yet she cries foul when challenged.
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Jasmine Crockett, a Texas congresswoman, has leaned into divisive rhetoric, alienating moderates with her social media antics and strident tone. Her lack of substantive achievements raises questions about her staying power.
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Kim Gardner, St. Louis’s former Circuit Attorney, resigned in 2023 after years of mismanagement, with her office plagued by staff shortages and unprosecuted cases. She blamed racism and political vendettas, ignoring her own incompetence.
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Cori Bush, ousted from Congress in 2024, lost to Wesley Bell in a landslide, despite her claims that AIPAC’s millions rigged the outcome. Conveniently, she ignores that St. Louis voters, including many Black constituents, rejected her for her ineffective leadership and polarizing activism.
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Tishaura Jones, St. Louis’s former mayor, was crushed in her 2025 re-election bid by Cara Spencer, losing 64% to 36%. Jones’s tenure was marred by a botched snowstorm response and crumbling city services, yet she scapegoated white voters for her defeat.
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LaToya Cantrell, New Orleans’s embattled mayor, has stumbled through scandals involving misuse of city funds and personal misconduct. Her refusal to take responsibility has eroded public trust.
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Kim Foxx, Cook County State’s Attorney, opted not to run again in 2024 as criticism mounted over her soft-on-crime policies, which many blamed for rising violence. Like others, she’s quick to label detractors as racist or sexist.
Hiding Behind Race and Gender
The common thread among these women is their eagerness to dodge accountability by blaming their failures on systemic racism and sexism. Tishaura Jones, for instance, whined to St. Louis Public Radio in 2025 that voters “no longer trust Black women to lead,” as if her administration’s failures—pothole-ridden streets, delayed trash pickup—were irrelevant. Cori Bush’s finger-pointing at AIPAC glosses over her own missteps, including federal probes into her campaign finances and a disconnect with constituents tired of her grandstanding. Marilyn Mosby and Fani Willis similarly deflect, framing their legal troubles as racially motivated conspiracies rather than consequences of their actions.
This tactic is not only disingenuous but hypocritical. These women owe their elections to diverse voter coalitions, including significant white support in liberal strongholds. Jones, Bush, and Gardner, for example, won in St. Louis with backing from white progressives in 2020 and 2021. To now brand those same voters as racist or sexist when they withdraw support reveals a stunning lack of self-awareness. It’s a betrayal of the very coalition that elevated them, exposing their reliance on identity as a crutch when competence falters.
The Myth of “Black Girl Magic”
The “Black Girl Magic” label, once a source of pride, has become a liability. It reduced these women to symbols, setting unrealistic expectations while shielding them from scrutiny. Their elections were framed as historic triumphs, but their records tell a different story: mismanagement, ethical lapses, and an inability to deliver. The narrative implied that their race and gender guaranteed transformative leadership, but voters—Black, white, and otherwise—have grown weary of symbolic victories that don’t translate into results.
The comparison to Barack Obama, implied by the hashtag #LessonsFromObama, is telling. Obama navigated racial dynamics with discipline, building broad coalitions and emphasizing competence over identity. In contrast, these women have leaned heavily into racial and gender grievances, alienating the diverse voters who initially backed them. Their failures suggest that identity alone cannot sustain leadership—results matter.
A Reckoning for Identity Politics
The collapse of this cohort is a cautionary tale about the perils of prioritizing race and gender over merit. By elevating these women as avatars of “Black Girl Magic,” their supporters set them up for failure, excusing early missteps and inflating their mandates. When the inevitable scandals and losses came, the fallback was to cry racism and sexism, a strategy that only deepens division and undermines trust in leadership.
Voters are sending a clear message: symbolism isn’t enough. In St. Louis, the ousting of Jones, Bush, Gardner, and others signals a demand for accountability, not excuses. Black women in politics can and should succeed, but they must do so on their merits, not as tokens of a fleeting cultural moment. The fad of “Black Girl Magic” has faded, and with it, the illusion that identity can substitute for competence. It’s time for a new approach—one that values results over rhetoric.
Sources:
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St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “Ex-St. Louis mayor Tishaura Jones blasts voters for turning on Black women”
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St. Louis Public Radio, “Tishaura Jones takes stock of her time as St. Louis mayor”
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KSDK, “Cara Spencer defeats incumbent Mayor Tishaura Jones with 64% vote in St. Louis”
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The Guardian, “Cori Bush loses Missouri primary in blow to progressive ‘squad’”
