The Congressional Caucus on Black Women & Girls | |
|---|---|
| Co-Chairs | Bonnie Watson Coleman (D) Robin Kelly (D) Yvette Clarke (D) |
| Founded | March 29, 2016 |
| Website | |
| watsoncoleman | |
The Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls is an United States congressional caucus founded on March 29, 2016 [1] to advance issues and legislation important to the welfare of women and girls of African descent. [2] [3]
In response to the tragedy of Sandra Bland, the caucus was inspired and created by the #SheWoke Committee: Ifeoma Ike, Esq., Nakisha Lewis, Sharon Copper (sister of Sandra Bland), Tiffany Hightower, Shambulia Gadsden Sams, Sharisse "She-Salt" Stancil-Ashford, and Avis Jones-DeWeever, Ph.D. – seven leading black women activists who consistently advocate for the global equity of black women and girls. [3]
Eleanor Holmes Norton is an American lawyer and politician serving as a delegate to the United States House of Representatives, representing the District of Columbia since 1991. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Barbara Jean Lee is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for California's 13th congressional district. Now in her 12th term, Lee has served since 1998, and is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 9th district from 1998 to 2013, is based in Oakland and covers most of the northern part of Alameda County.
Anna A. Georges Eshoo is the U.S. representative from California's 18th congressional district, serving since 1993. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 14th district from 1993 to 2013, is based in Silicon Valley, including the cities of Redwood City, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, and Palo Alto, as well as part of San Jose. She is the only Assyrian American in Congress and one of only two Armenian American women in Congress, with Jackie Speier being the other.
Diana Louise DeGette is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Colorado's 1st congressional district since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, her district is based in Denver. DeGette was a Chief Deputy Whip from 2005 to 2019 and is the dean of Colorado's congressional delegation; she served as the Colorado State Representative for the 6th district from 1993 until her election to the U.S. House.
The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is a caucus made up of most African-American members of the United States Congress. Representative Karen Bass from California chaired the caucus from 2019 to 2021, she was succeeded by Representative Joyce Beatty from Ohio as chair. As of 2021, all members of the caucus are part of the Democratic Party.
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Marcia Carolyn Kaptur is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Ohio's 9th congressional district. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district stretches from Kaptur's hometown of Toledo to Cleveland. It includes all of Ottawa and Erie counties, and parts of Lucas, Lorain, and Cuyahoga counties.
Eddie Bernice Johnson is an American politician who represents Texas's 30th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. Johnson is a member of the Democratic Party.
Yvette Diane Clarke is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for New York's 9th congressional district since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, she first entered Congress in 2007, representing New York's 11th congressional district until redistricting. Clarke represented the 40th district in Brooklyn on the New York City Council from 2002 to 2006.
Bonnie M. Watson Coleman is an American politician. She has served as the U.S. representative for New Jersey's 12th congressional district since 2015. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Watson Coleman served in the New Jersey General Assembly, from 1998 to 2015 for the 15th legislative district. She is the first African-American woman to represent New Jersey in Congress.
Karen Ruth Bass is an American politician and social worker serving as the U.S. representative for California's 37th congressional district since 2011. The district, numbered as the 33rd district for her first term, covers several areas south and west of downtown Los Angeles. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served for six years in the California State Assembly, the last two as speaker. Bass is a candidate in the 2022 Los Angeles mayoral election.
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Geeta Rao Gupta is a leader on gender, women's issues, and HIV/AIDS who has been serving as executive director of the 3D Program for Girls and Women and senior fellow at the United Nations Foundation since 2017. She is frequently consulted on issues related to AIDS prevention and women's vulnerability to HIV and is an advocate for women's economic and social empowerment to fight disease, poverty and hunger.
David Patrick Joyce is an American politician and former prosecutor who has served as the United States representative for Ohio's 14th congressional district since 2013. An attorney, Joyce was previously the prosecutor of Geauga County, Ohio. He is a member of the Republican Party.
The Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues is a bipartisan membership organization within the House of Representatives committed to advancing women's interests in Congress. It was founded by fifteen Congresswomen on April 19, 1977, and was originally known as the Congresswomen's Caucus. Its founding co-chairs were Reps. Elizabeth Holtzman, a New York Democrat, and Margaret Heckler, a Massachusetts Republican. In 1981, men were invited to join and the name of the organization was therefore changed to the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues. However, in January 1995, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to eliminate funding for offices and staff of caucus organizations on Capitol Hill; therefore, the Congresswomen reorganized themselves into a Members' organization. It is still called the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues, but men no longer belong to it. Today its membership consists of all women in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Sandra Annette Bland was a 28-year-old African-American woman who was found hanged in a jail cell in Waller County, Texas, on July 13, 2015, three days after being arrested during a traffic stop. Her death was ruled a suicide. It was followed by protests against her arrest, disputing the cause of death and alleging racial violence against her.
Nanette Díaz Barragán is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative for California's 44th congressional district since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she was a Hermosa Beach City councilmember from 2013 to 2015.
Girls for Gender Equity(GGE) is a Brooklyn-based, inter-generational non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening local communities by creating opportunities for young women and girls to live self-determined lives. To achieve this goal, GGE practices a bio-psycho-social-cultural approach to tackling the many obstacles young women and girls face such as sexism, racial inequality, homophobia, transphobia, and sexual harassment.
Angela Rye is the Principal and CEO of IMPACT Strategies, a political advocacy firm formerly based in Washington, DC. She was a liberal political commentator on CNN.
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