26 www.CharlestonWomenPodcast.com | www.ReadCW.com | www.Instagram.com/CharlestonWomen Charleston Women in Business House. “Most people don’t realize that flag went up in the 1960s but it was never there before that,” she said. “Even during the Civil War, only state and USA flags were flown at the Capitol. The legislature compromised, allowing it to stay in a fenced-in area on the State House grounds until after the Charleston massacre when it came down completely.” For women who are interested in running for office, Miller’s advice is “Just do it.” But she cautioned, “You are away from home a lot and have to be in Columbia three or more days a week. Even when you’re not in session, you have a full calendar with meetings and events to attend every day. Talk it over with family, make sure everyone is on board and that everything is organized.” Miller, who never ran without opposition, added, “There is a lot to take into consideration. The longer I stayed in government, the uglier the campaigns became, so be prepared. Women get attacked at a different level than men. Although we raised a lot of campaign contributions, it’s not the same amount of money as men.” Yet the return is significant, Miller said. “I still have people say, ‘I’ll never forget the time you helped me.’ It warms your heart when you realize you really did make a difference.” MIA MCLEOD, STATE SENATOR (2017-24) As an eighth-generation South Carolinian, Mia McLeod’s ancestry is tied to Charleston, where her great-greatgrandfather, Joseph W. Morris grew up as a “nominal” slave, meaning his parents purchased their son to keep him out of the traditional slave trade. In 1876, Morris was nominated to serve in the state legislature, and although this would have been an incredible achievement, Morris declined so that he could finish his law studies at the University of South Carolina. Because McLeod’s father wanted her to understand how the state legislature works, her first job as a college student in 1987 was serving as a page in the South Carolina House earning $5 an hour. Then in 1990 and 1995, she followed in her great-great-grandfather’s footsteps and graduated from the University of South Carolina, where she earned a B.A. and J.D., respectively. After graduating law school, she learned that South Carolina was number one in the nation for women who are murdered by men as a result of domestic violence. In 1996, McLeod became the first statewide director of former Attorney General Charlie Condon’s Violence Against Women Project. She and her team launched the state’s first Silent Witness program in 1997 and wrote the protocols and curricula for police, prosecutors, judges and victim advocates to use when investigating, prosecuting and adjudicating domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking crimes. Attorney General Alan Wilson continues to hold the state’s annual Silent Witness Ceremony on the State House grounds and the protocols and curricula that were adopted by the SC Criminal Justice Academy in the late 90s continue to serve as the foundation for today’s Violence Against Women public policy initiatives. When then House District 79 Rep. Anton Gunn announced in 2010 that he was accepting a presidential appointment in the Obama Administration and would not be seeking re-election, he asked McLeod if she knew anyone who would run for his seat. “I never planned to run for office,” McLeod said. “When I decided to throw my name in the hat, I had no elected experience or knowledge about campaigns. It was important to me that I lead with authenticity, so I started the way I planned to finish, with honesty and integrity, letting voters know exactly what they were getting.” At the time, District 79 was one of the fastest growing swing districts in the state and McLeod faced significant challenges when her swing district was gerrymandered and neither her House Caucus nor state party decided to fight it. Despite the obstacles McLeod faced, she won the election. While serving in the SC House of Representatives, Speaker Jay Lucas appointed McLeod to the House’s Domestic Violence Advisory Committee, where she continued to build upon the statewide Violence Against Women initiatives and became one of the legislature’s strongest voices for domestic violence survivors, victims and their families. McLeod was the first woman elected to House District 79 and later became the first woman and African American elected to represent Senate District 22. Both districts represented Richland and Kershaw counties. Despite opposition from her own party, McLeod never lost a House or Senate race in 14 years. On June 3, 2021, McLeod announced her candidacy for the 2022 South Carolina gubernatorial race. The story about the first Black woman to run for governor of South Carolina generated national and international headlines. In 2023, McLeod publicly left the South Carolina Democratic Party and became an Independent. That year, she and her ‘sister senators’ later received the
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