Councilwoman

Carmen Castillo won a seat on the city council between shifts as a hotel housekeeper. Building a name for herself in local politics as she fought to unionize and, unsuccessfully, to raise the minimum hourly wage to $15 for all Providence, Rhode Island, hotel workers, Castillo infuriated her more corporate-minded constituents in Ward 9. Councilwoman tracks the story from her arrival in the U.S. from the Dominican Republic in the mid-1990s to her 2014 reelection bid, when she once again espouses a fiery progressive platform. And neither of her opponents proves shy about using her marginalized economic status and lack of formal higher education against her. Castillo battles personal setbacks and legacy notions of who is qualified to run for political office — all the while fiercely defending her vision of a society in which all people earn enough to support themselves and their families.