5 black women shaking up politics

Black women have exerted influence in political power for 60 years, dating back to 1968 when Shirley Chisholm became the primary black woman elected to Congress. Since then, several black women have followed in her footsteps, making waves within the political arena.

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1. Jasmine Crockett

Jasmine Crockett, a congressional student from Dallas, uses her social media platforms to influence and control her own narrative. According to Crockett’s online reach exceeds that of all other Texas Democrats except Joaquin Castro, brother of former presidential candidate Julian Castro. Crockett’s outspoken nature earned a couple of moments that went viral, like a clip of her remarking that Donald Trump kept boxes of secret documents in a Mar-a-Lago bathroom. Crockett said, “Those are our national secrets, as far as I’m concerned.”

This unusual clip has gone viral on social media, especially Reddit and TikTok; One user’s edit of a clip with background music has garnered over 8 million views on the app. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said Crockett uniquely uses her law degree on social media, combining it with rural Texas charm. Crockett currently fills the seat that was occupied before her retirement by her late predecessor, Eddie Bernice Johnson, himself a legend in Texas politics. Crockett’s fire on the ground stems partially from her insistence that she has no intention of staying in Congress for the long haul, and it shows in the way in which she approaches appearances on the congressional floor. Olivia Julianna, a 21-year-old Texas political activist, summed up Crockett’s appeal to younger voters by saying, “That’s why people respect her so much, because she says what a lot of people think, but they don’t have a platform to say it.”

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2. Rep. Cori Bush

Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), one other Black woman who is just not afraid to talk her mind, has received praise after winning the proper to represent St. Patrick’s 1st District. Louis in 2021, after gaining prominence as a Black Lives Matter activist. Bush seems more idealistic than Crockett and is just not afraid to act alone, even when he has no support. Bush’s “squad” moniker includes Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and other more progressive members of Congress Bush can count on the support of not less than considered one of others or support them of their hour of need.

As Axios reports, Bush and the remaining of the Squad did urging President Joe Biden to take stronger motion to Palestine. Bush has been considered one of the loudest and most consistent voices calling for a everlasting ceasefire relatively than the renamed pause promoted by the Biden-Harris administration. This call extends to the guy Bush invited to the State of the Union address, Intimaa Salama, a Palestinian dentist from St. Louis. Salama had lots of her relations killed throughout the Israeli bombing of Palestine.

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3. Representative. Ayanna Pressley

Pressley made history in 2018 when she became the primary Black woman elected to represent Massachusetts in Congress. Her victory was is just not defined by her political platform but her grassroots campaign is reaching into the seventh District, the one non-white majority district within the state. Northeast political science professor Costas Panagopoulos said Pressley “won by cultivating an electorate that was looking for new leadership and new leaders.”

Panagopoulos said: “What’s more, she energized those voters – minorities and young people – who don’t often vote in large numbers, and the result shows that that happened.”

Pressley also used the State of the Union guest invite to make that time Debt relief is a difficulty of racial and gender justice inviting Priscilla Valentine, a teacher who had served within the Boston Public Schools for several years. Pressley said: “Two-thirds of the $1.7 trillion crisis rests on the shoulders of women, and it is (also) a racial justice issue as Black and brown students borrow and default at higher rates.” Pressley also criticized Walgreens for closing its predominantly Black and Brown pharmacy in Roxbury. In her statement addressed to the Speaker of the House of RepresentativesPressley said: “When a Walgreens owner leaves a neighborhood, he disrupts the entire community and takes with him baby formula, diapers, asthma inhalers, life-saving medications and, of course, his job. These closures are not arbitrary and they are not innocent. These are life-threatening acts of racial and economic discrimination.”

Pressley continued: “That’s why I joined Senators Markey and Warren to demand answers from the CEO of Walgreens. Why was there no community input? No proper notification to customers? And an absence of transition resources to stop health care shortages? Shame on you, Walgreens.

Source: (Photo by Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

4. Representative Barbara Lee

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) has been a stalwart progressive activist within the state of California for a few years, as evidenced by her strong opposition to the 2001 Iraq War when many, even other liberals, were busy drumming war. According to Lee’s response to President George Bush’s request for an unspecified request for authorization to make use of military force to reply to 911, it reflected an understanding of what might occur after that time.

“Attacking anyone involved in the events of 9/11 was a blank check for the president – ​​anywhere, in any country, without regard to our nation’s long-term foreign policy, economic interests and national security, and without time limits. By granting these overly broad powers, Congress has failed in its responsibility to understand the dimensions of its declaration. I could not support such a grant to the president of the power to wage war; I believe it would put more innocent lives at risk.”

Precipitate presence and its politics reflected the inner lives of Black women, as she said after losing the “jungle primary” to switch Dianne Feinstein within the Senate after California Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed his ally, Laphonza Butler, a black woman who led Emily’s List, to switch Feinstein. Butler selected not to stay within the seat. Lee said: “I was persistent and faced roadblocks and obstacles at every step. But again, this is an example of a black woman’s life.”

Black women in California have been calling for greater representation at the best levels of presidency for a while, and Lee has played a key role in that push. Lee was among the many first in Congress to call for a everlasting ceasefire in Palestine. Lee said she knows her courage has inspired other Black women, who often tell her they know there’s a barrier of racism and sexism in California politics in relation to Black women. “Many of them got here up and whispered to me, ‘I do know what it’s about.’ This is a standard conversation for Black women,” Lee said. “When you go out and do something that other people think you shouldn’t do as a black woman, you get a lot of backlash.”

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5. Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester

Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (Delaware) has been fighting for the rights of Delawareans for years. As a results of her tireless struggle, she received, amongst others: enthusiastic support from the Human Rights Campaign PAC and its president, Kelley Robinson. “Representative Blunt Rochester has spent years breaking down barriers to access and equality for Delawareans and herself. I applaud my sister in the movement for continually advancing equality and opportunity and representing the often thankless hard work Black women do across the country to preserve our democracy and build a better tomorrow for those who come after us. As a widow, mother, grandmother and public servant, Lisa knows how important it is to provide families with economic security and greater opportunity.”

If Blunt Rochester is elected to the Senate, she is going to develop into only the fourth Black woman to develop into a senator.

Congresswoman Blunt Rochester led sponsorship of the Jumpstart Our Businesses By Support Students Act (JOBS Act) together with former Republican Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) and other colleagues, and he or she became the bill’s official lead sponsor. The JOBS Act is an element of Blunt Rochester’s broader Jobs Agenda, which helps create policies to advance inexpensive housing, criminal justice reform, workforce training programs and supporting supply chains.

“I was proud to introduce the bipartisan JOBS Act with former Representative Johnson last year to increase access to Pell Grants for students across the country so they can build their skills and secure good-paying jobs, all while reducing labor shortages and strengthening our economy,” Blunt Rochester said in a February statement. “Today, I am equally proud to stand before my colleagues to take leadership on the bill, and I will continue to work across the aisle to build support for this crucial legislation so that young people across the country are prepared for the jobs and professions of today tomorrow.”

These five Black women are committed to helping create change and galvanizing more Black women to enter the political arena. They follow within the footsteps of each their immediate predecessors and people of pioneers reminiscent of Chisholm. As Lee has shown, black women face specific obstacles on their path to political power. However, they proceed to press forward because they know there are those that are watching them push forward and ultimately shatter the glass ceiling in politics.