This past weekend, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley welcomed Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Karen Bass (D-CA), and Congresswomen Barbara Lee (D-CA), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Bonnie Watson-Coleman (D-NJ), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and Jahana Hayes (D-CT) to the Massachusetts 7th Congressional District for the Congressional Black Caucus’s (CBC) first-ever visit to Massachusetts.
“The Massachusetts 7th is one of the most diverse and unequal districts in our country, and in many ways, the experiences of Black Americans in our district represent those of Black Americans across our country,” said Congresswoman Pressley. “We know that when America gets sick, Black people get pneumonia and the CBC’s role in combating hate, racial inequality, and civil injustice remains as important as ever. As the first Black woman elected to Congress from Massachusetts, I was honored to share the rich culture and history of the 7th with CBC colleagues from around the nation, and to engage in serious conversations about the significant challenges faced by the Black community.”
The members of the CBC delegation that traveled to Massachusetts are all history-makers in their own right:
•Congresswoman Pressley made history in 2018 when she was elected as the first Black woman to represent Massachusetts in Congress.
•CBC Chairwoman Bass was the first Black woman to serve as the Speaker for the California Assembly.
•Congresswoman Lee is the only Black woman currently serving in Democratic Leadership for the U.S. House of Representatives, serving as Co-Chair of the Policy and Steering Committee.
•Congresswoman Moore is the first Black person elected to Congress from the State of Wisconsin.
•Congresswoman Watson-Coleman was the first Black woman to serve as Majority Leader of the New Jersey General Assembly.
•Congresswoman Omar is the first Somali-American Member of Congress.
•Congresswoman Hayes is the first Black woman and the first Black Democrat to ever represent the state of Connecticut in Congress.
The visit was part of the CBC’s “State of Black America” series and included events throughout the Massachusetts 7th that amplified the contributions, opportunities, and challenges faced by the Black community in the 7th district and across the country. Over the course of the weekend, the CBC delegation sat down to discuss criminal legal reform with the African American Coalition Committee – an advocacy group operated by men incarcerated at Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Norfolk; hosted a panel on economic justice, which brought together entrepreneurs, community and business leaders to discuss improving access to Boston’s economic opportunities for Black and Brown communities; and a townhall discussion on the issue of criminalization and miseducation of Black girls and ending the school crisis.
Founded in 1971, the Congressional Black Caucus has often been referred to as the ‘conscious of the Congress’ and has led on critical issues of equity, opportunity, and innovation as it pertains to Black Americans. As part of the “State of Black America” series, the CBC previously visited Detroit, Michigan; Los Angeles, California; Birmingham, Alabama; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Atlanta, Georgia; and Brooklyn, New York.