Rep. Ajay Pittman Brings Multiple Identities to the Table 

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By Sarah Evans

Representative Ajay Pittman (D-OK) wants democracy to be representative and accessible. This ambition, along with her identities as a Black and Native woman, have shaped her work in the Oklahoma state legislature. 

Pittman has dual citizenship in the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and is a seventh-generation Native American. She is “bringing that unique perspective to the legislature to say: I’m not just looking from one lens, I’m looking from multiple,” she told Future Caucus in an interview. “I’m standing in the gap as a young person, as a female, as a Black woman, as a Native woman. It’s like, they can put me on the committee and I am the diversity there.”

Pittman, who serves on the Special Committee on State-Tribal Relations and is a member of the Oklahoma Legislative Black Caucus and Native American Legislative Caucus, emphasized the importance of diversity within the legislature, which she admits is lacking. Her legislative priorities, which include healthcare, criminal justice reform, economic development and agriculture, all come from her desire to serve her constituents in House District 99—an area growing in racial, socioeconomic, and generational diversity that is also one of Oklahoma’s few majority-Democratic districts. 

“A lot of times, the legislature does not make up the demographic of the state or the communities because most people can’t afford to do what we do,” Pittman said. “How do we make this process more accessible to the everyday American so that we can have more diverse voices at the table? Until we start putting those measures in place, it’s going to be the same.” 

Even just the cost of running a campaign can be too much for the average person, regardless of their qualifications for office or passion for public service. In 2023, candidates for the U.S. House and Senate collectively reported spending $718.7 million on their campaigns. 

“People feel like it’s volunteerism when it really is a job,” Pittman said. “We need to start that conversation of saying, ‘elected officials should get a livable wage.’ They should earn that. They are elected, yes, but it’s still work.” 

In the 2020 general election, Oklahoma ranked last in voting-eligible population turnout rate. Pittman thinks young people might be able to change that. 

“Having those conversations early to say, what are we doing with high school students? What are we doing to encourage them to vote at 18?” Pittman said. “What are we doing to allow them to see the exciting work or to see the behind the scenes of what they think politics is?”