EMILYs List Celebrates Black History Month
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In celebration of Black History Month, EMILYs List Interim President Jessica Mackler released the following statement:
“Today we begin a month dedicated to celebrating the innumerable contributions of Black Americans to our story. The work of Black women like Constance Baker Motley, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Coretta Scott King, who led movements to fight for racial and social justice. Or Shirley Chisholm and Carol Moseley Braun, who ran, won, and changed the world, becoming the first Black women to lead in Congress. Or Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black woman vice president, and Sen. Laphonza Butler, who is only the third Black woman to serve in the Senate in history. Their advocacy and bravery, coupled with the work of many Black Americans whose names are not written in history books, opened the door to the generations of leaders who have followed.
“As we celebrate their achievements, we must also acknowledge the continued fight for equality. Representation is integral to a truly equitable government, and at a time when only one Black woman serves in the U.S. Senate, supporting Black women candidates has never been more important. EMILYs List is proud to support Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks as they run for Senate. And candidates like Rep. Emilia Sykes (OH-13), Janelle Bynum (OR-05), and Lateefah Simon (CA-12) running for Congress, and Keir Bradford-Grey running for attorney general in Pennsylvania. We know when we elect Democratic pro-choice Black women up and down the ballot, we are building a better future for everyone.”
EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, works to elect Democratic pro-choice women up and down the ballot and across the country with a goal of fighting for our rights and our communities. Our work is centered around a fundamental vision: Run. Win. Change the World. EMILYs List has raised $850 million in service to that vision and has helped Democratic women win competitive elections by recruiting and training candidates, supporting and helping build strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, running one of the largest independent expenditure operations for Democrats, and turning out women voters to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect the country’s first woman as vice president, 175 women to the House, 26 to the Senate, 20 governors, and over 1,500 women to state and local office. More than 40% of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. Visit www.emilyslist.org for more information.
