At the beginning of Women’s History Month, Essence ran this story about the five new black Democratic women in Congress, titled “People, Get Ready. Changes Are Coming To Capitol Hill”:
With natural twists pulled back into her signature chignon, a chic suit and just enough swagger to show that she means business, Ayanna Pressley cuts an impressive figure as she strides through halls of neoclassical architecture, marble columns and sweeping, ornate ceilings. Pressley, who is married and the mother of a 10-year-old stepdaughter, fits in among the bronze statues and busts of sheroes such as Rosa Parks and Sojourner Truth, which now share space with likenesses of former presidents and leaders. Indeed, when one considers the history of the Capitol building, erected in the 1800’s largely through the labor of enslaved African-Americans, there’s something truly momentous yet completely right about a twenty-first-century Black woman owning her place in these chambers. And she’s not alone.
“Fifty years to the day that Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress, five new Black women won seats in the House of Representatives,” notes Glynda Carr, cofounder of Higher Heights for America, which works to elect Black women nationwide. “They’re all the first Black women to serve their respective states’ or congressional districts.”
Representatives Jahana Hayes of Connecticut, Lucy McBath of Georgia, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Pressley of Massachusetts and Lauren Underwood of Illinois were sworn into the 116th Congress on January 3, a day filled with pomp and circumstance, official class photos and plenty of jubilant selfies... The lawmakers are among the so-called blue wave of Democrats elected during a record voter turnout in the November 2018 midterms. The group is also part of a Black wave—sisters who defied the odds to run for office, ultimately disrupting the establishment with their victories.
Today is the last day of this special month, and unless we wake up and smell the coffee, that history may backslide.
These five new black congresswomen are among a group of nine new black House members, who were elected in heavily white districts.
Each of the nine new black Congressional members focused on local issues, but also stressed their opposition to the toxic Trump and ran on the number one issue for Democrats this year—the Republicans’ threat to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Lucy McBath’s victory was perhaps the most stunning upset. She defeated Republican incumbent Karen Handel in Georgia’s Sixth District in the Atlanta suburbs that was once represented by Newt Gingrich and where 61 percent of residents are white and only 14 percent are African American. McBath became a reluctant public figure in 2012 when her 17-year old son Jordan was shot dead at a Florida gas station by a white man who complained about loud music. McBath became a gun control activist, quickly becoming national spokesperson for Moms Demand Action. She decided to run for Congress after the mass shooting at the Parkland, Florida high school in February. In April 2017, Jon Osoff, a little-known Democrat and first-time candidate, laid the groundwork by giving Handel a close race in a special election to represent the district. He lost by a 52 percent to 48 percent margin. McBath won her race —by a 50.5 percent to 49.5 percent margin—in part by improving on Osoff’s outreach to African Americans and by drawing on the anti-Trump sentiment among women.
Almost as shocking was Lauren Underwood’s defeat of four-term Republican incumbent Randy Hultgren in a district once represented by Republican former House Speaker Dennis Hastert. A 32-year-old registered nurse, she had served as a senior advisor in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during the Obama administration. She has a pre-existing heart condition and decided to run for office for the first time after Hultgren voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Two years ago Hultgren won with 59 percent of the vote in what was considered a safe Republican district, in Chicago’s affluent suburbs, where 79 percent of residents are white and only 3 percent are black. In what was obviously racially coded language, Hultgren described Underwood as an “outsider,” even though she grew up Naperville in the heart of the district. But Underwood unseated him by a 52 percent to 48 percent margin.
I wasn’t surprised when I saw these tweets from Underwood and McBath:
We need to start paying attention—now.
Paying attention means more than just sending a donation. It means helping to increase these sistas’ visibility.
I mentioned what I see as part of the problem in “Black feminism, misogynoir, and attempts to erase black women’s voices”:
We have an exciting group of new black congresswomen. Interestingly (but not surprisingly), they have attracted very little attention here on Daily Kos with the exception of Rep. Ilhan Omar, who is caught up in the never-ending and vituperative Israel/Palestine battles from both the right and the left.
Erasure of black women is another form of misogynoir.
It isn’t deliberate. It’s an unconscious form of oversight—and it is going to do damage over the long haul.
So before it goes on much longer, I’m going to use my blogging privilege to chide those of you who write posts here and elsewhere.
My mini-rant:
There is a new congresswoman who gets beaucoup coverage here.
When it comes to to new congresswomen, Daily Kos has become “Daily Ocasio-Cortez,” much to the detriment of the black women who are not from safe blue districts and who are already facing potential challenges.
In case you think I am exaggerating, let me post some data.
Using the site search engine, I did a title search from September 1, 2018 to March 27, 2019. I did titles, and not text, because headlines (with accompanying photos) grab the eye of the reader, and increase the number of shares offsite.
Jahana Hayes—One story. This was part of an open thread by Meteor Blades.
Lauren Underwood—Two stories.
Ayanna Pressley—Six stories, all by front page staff writers.
Lucy McBath—Eight stories. Only one was written after January 2019, and that was written by a Support the Dream Defenders and Black Kos community member (thank you, Joan Mar).
Ilhan Omar—32 stories. This was not a surprise, given the uproar and Israel-Palestine debate focused on both Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, from the right and the left. However, none of the stories really pay much attention to what she is doing in her district, and the emphasis isn’t really on her being black.
Contrast that with AOC, with 82. A search for Ocasio-Cortez calls up 108 stories, for a total of 190.
In case you think it’s Latina vs. black:
Sylvia Garcia—Zero stories. Veronica Escobar—Zero stories.
Coverage has not been much better for our new Native American members. Deb Haaland—Three stories. Sharice Davids—Seven stories (four of those seven are by Kansan and Daily Kos staffer Chris Reeves).
Before AOC fans get bent out of shape, let me state this clearly: We, as a community can do better, without short-changing Ocasio-Cortez. As Democrats we are looking toward 2020, with hopes of taking both the White House and the Senate. While in pursuit of this goal, we need to hold onto the House and should increase our margins.
Ignoring black women (and other women of color) who’ve made important victories isn’t the way to ensure that. One of our strongest voting blocs is black women, who helped make many of our blue wave wins possible.
Twice a week in Black Kos, I do a Twitter round-up. I’ve been following the new black Congress members, male and female, not only posting their activities in Washington, but also sharing their interactions with voters back in their districts. That Twitter roundup is in the comments section, so it’s only seen by the few people who come in and participate.
I don’t think it is asking too much of some of you who live in their districts, or who are fans, to write a few stories. Those of you who aren’t into writing can at least follow them on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or in the news, and pass the information on via your social networks.
Here are some examples:
Rep. Lauren Underwood talks with Rachel Maddow about Democratic efforts to strengthen and broaden health care coverage for Americans even as Donald Trump tries to use the courts to go around Congress and take away health insurance from tens of millions of Americans.
That’s just a sample, and there are lots more where these came from. So write, share, and support.
There are also organizations that have been helping. Targeting black women is Higher Heights:
Higher Heights is the only national organization providing Black women with a political home exclusively dedicated to harnessing their power to elect Black women, influence elections and advance progressive policies.
Higher Heights for America, a 501(c)(4), and its sister organization Higher Heights Leadership Fund, a national 501(c)(3) organization are building the political power and leadership of Black women from the voting booth to elected office and creating the environment for Black women to run, win and lead.
Higher Heights was founded by Black women for Black women’s political growth and equity, and we have a winning plan for building collective political power and expanding Black women elected leadership in 2018, 2020 and beyond.
Of course there is also Emily’s List:
Hope you will join me in supporting these women, and spreading the word.