“We call ourselves ‘18 Strong,’ ” said Hampton Sen. Mamie Locke, chair of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, that has 18 members in the General Assembly.

“We see ourselves as 18 strong voices seeking to do what’s right, not just for constituents in our districts, but speaking for those who don’t see themselves as having voices,” she told the Free Press last week.

The caucus defines its mission as working to “improve the economic, educational, political and social conditions of African-Americans as well as other underrepresented groups in the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

Sen. Locke and other caucus members are scheduled to outline the group’s legislative agenda for the upcoming General Assembly session on its opening day, Wednesday, Jan. 13. The presentation will be 10:30 a.m. in the House Briefing Room on the first floor of the General Assembly Building.

Sen. Locke said a unified effort by caucus members, all of whom are Democrats, will be even more critical this session with Republicans controlling the Senate and House of Delegates.

“We have power in our numbers,” she said. “There are 18 of us and those 18 votes can make a difference,” she said.

Already, the caucus has said it will focus on criminal justice system reforms, funding for education and expanding health care and voting rights and women’s rights among its efforts.

Sen. Locke said the caucus will continue to push for Medicaid expansion to provide health insurance coverage to an estimated 400,000 working Virginians “even though we know it has absolutely no chance of passing.”

She also said caucus members will offer legislation to provide a living wage for workers. “I don’t see that it will be going anywhere, but our role is continuing to push for those things,” Sen. Locke said

She said the caucus also will seek to increase voting rights by supporting early voting opportunities and by blocking any further GOP legislation designed to suppress voting rights.

Other areas of legislative focus for the caucus will include increasing funding for K-12 education and early childhood education, providing more workforce training opportunities, support for universal background checks for gun purchases and upholding women’s choices in deciding their health care needs.

The caucus also is backing a constitutional amendment allowing for the automatic restoration of rights for nonviolent offenders.

Sen. Locke also said the caucus will oppose a proposed constitutional amendment to give the state the authority to determine whether a locality can establish a charter school, removing that authority from local school boards.

She said caucus members also would oppose a constitutional amendment designed to make Virginia a right-to-work state.

“This is an anti-labor amendment,” Sen. Locke said. “They’re saying, ‘We don’t want people to join unions.’ ”

She said caucus members know the cards are stacked against them in their efforts to pass legislation important to their constituents because of the GOP opposition.

Asked what strategy the caucus will use to overcome its underdog status during the General Assembly session, Sen. Locke said, “We’re just being very vocal and very loud about the fact that they (Republicans) tend to use their position … not to do what’s in the best interest of citizens. They use those numbers to flex their muscles, instead of asking, ‘Where can we work together?’ ’’