Steps towards Black women and girls getting the attention they deserve in the US Congress are being made.
A congressional caucus is defined as a group of people with shared concerns within a political party or larger organization. Congressional caucuses were made to bring legislative awareness to issues worth paying close attention to. It’s no secret race and gender are two things that have caused turmoil in the morale of society. With the implementation of a caucus, the issues the certain group or minority faces in America will be examined from a legislative viewpoint. Yesterday [Tuesday, March 22] marked the day the wellbeing of Black women and girls in America got just that.
U.S. Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.), Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) and Yvette D. Clarke (D-N.Y.) confirmed the news of the Caucus. All three representatives, who are of African American descent, said the caucus would focus to “eliminate significant barriers and disparities experienced by Black women.” There are already 430 congressional caucus focused on a wide variety of things like women’s issues, competitiveness in entertainment, effective foreign assistance and more.
“Black women and girls are disproportionately affected by myriad of socioeconomic issues that diminish their quality of life and threaten the well-being of their families and communities,” Rep. Kelly said in a press release via The Huffington Post. “The Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls gives Black women a seat at the table for the crucial discussion on the policies that impact them while also providing a framework for creating opportunities and eliminating barriers to success for Black women.”
There have been extreme cases of injustice towards the African American community throughout history. Most recently, America was shook by the news of Sandra Bland. Her story not only shocked the masses, it introduced the younger generation of African American women to the inhumane injustices all African American people are faced with. The movement #SheWoke is a committee that was formed to call on congress members to create a space that puts Black women’s issues at the forefront. Ifeoma Ike and six other women are involved in the #SheWoke committee which is made up of Black women activists who courageously advocate for Black women’s rights, including Ike, Nakisha M. Lewis, Tiffany D. Hightower, Shambulia Gadsden Sams, Sharisse Stancil-Ashford, Dr. Avis Jones-DeWeever and Sharon Cooper.
The initiative is new but well overdue. With more eyes and ears in higher places dedicated to the well-being of African American women, we can only hope that more issues will be addressed. The betterment of any community starts with the women. So far, the brave women who dedicated their time and efforts to create the caucus are taking the first step to a better morale of the country. For more on the caucus click here.
