Transcripts For CSPAN Stacey 20240703 : comparemela.com

Host there are a lot of avenues that this could have been done. How does this type of fraud occur . Guest stolen identities of actual people that fraud announcer now live to stacey abrams, moderating a panel of women freshman members of Congress Talking about female representation in Public Office. So honored today to have special guest on our campus. In the form of freshman women from the congress. They are members of the Congressional Black Caucus. We are pleased that they took time out of their busy schedules , the day after the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual conference. As anybody knows, they worked hard during that time period. We thank them for coming to the campus today and for being with us and we look forward to working with their offices, getting more howard students working in internships and more howard students hired in congress. They have brought staff with them today. You can talk to students. If you are interested in careers on the hill, look for the desk outside and you can talk with them about being a part of the government and making the government a better place to be because we know it is going to be better, just because of the new members we have in congress. [applause] i want to offer a very special thank you to dr. Moon, head of the Diversity Office for the house of representatives. [applause] many of you did not know that there was an office created for diversity and inclusion in congress. Of course, by the time you hear about it, there are attacks on that office. We are hoping we can keep that office because it is very important to the diversity for the congress. It is important for the diversity in the country. We are very happy that she reached out today reached out to Howard University. I also want to thank dr. Joseph leonard, assistant Vice President of external affairs, for being the point of contact here at howard to bring us all together. And also, i want to thank our new president vincent for joining us today. [applause] we know that he has just been here for less than a month and he has a lot on his plate. He took the time today to come up to this event and come and meet the members of congress. Finally, i want to say that we are going to do here at Howard University, we are going to do our part to work with dr. Moons office, with the Congressional Office to make sure that howard students know about opportunities that are available and to make certain that our students are ready when they come to the. Come to the congress. I need to introduce one special guest we have here today. Ms. Patricia walters. [applause] the chair of the board of the ron Walton Center and whose husband was here at Howard University for 25 years in the Political Science department. And also, we have to mention that she donated her Art Collection to Howard University a couple of years ago and to those of you who have time, students, you need to find time to go and look at the exhibit in the art gallery here at Howard University. It is a massive collection and we are so pleased of her donation to the university. [indiscernible] [laughter] [applause] ok. Dr. Moon is going to introduce stacey abrams. Right now, before we get to that, tells us what to do. We love her. I am to bring to the podium our president of Howard University dr. Ben jensen the third. What number are you . The 18th president of Howard University. [applause] thank you so much. It is an honor and a pleasure to be here with all of you. And of course our esteemed congresswomen who have agreed to travel to campus and spend time with us to help us inspire the next generation of leaders right here at Howard University. In preparing for this panel, i was struck how every Single Person on this stage emphasizes with they started their career in Public Service. They have done so to address longstanding issues in their communities. And to uplift the voices of those who often go unanswered. In the fight for civil rights in america, when you look back at the legacy of the civil rights struggles, from the years of the 1800s and forward, you will always and consistently find that black women coordinated many of the seminal events that have led to civil rights in america. Stretching from the underground railroad to the organization of freedom rides, our women have continually been outspoken advocates for equity and inclusion, to this day. Standing up for the rights of the marginalized across the United States. Today, we are joined by remarkable women who continue this grand tradition of standing up for what is right and for fighting for policies and programs that address longstanding inequities. Given our universitys commitment to truth in service, it is no accident that two freshman members of the u. S. House of representative, congresswoman summer lee. [applause] and sheila mccormick. [applause] both are proud alumni of Howard University. [applause] i am also here, and i would love to welcome stacey abrams, who is serving as the inaugural law ron walters endowed chair for greatness in black politics. [applause] collectively, we want to thank ms. Patricia walters, though widow of dr. Ron walters, for her generous donation Howard University which facilitated the creation of this chair. It is my hope as your president that the students here today will take full advantage of the opportunity to begin thinking about your past in Howard University your path. I would encourage each of you to make connections with our congresswomen. I also want to encourage you to build strong coalitions amongst yourselves for your howard classmates are likely to be in your lives forever. So please, be intentional and working together to help each other. To reach your highest potential. And to lead our planet to a more just and equitable future. Thank you again. I want to thank the members again for being with us today. I now turn the program over to dr. Moon, who is another leader fighting every day in purposeful ways to make sure that the halls of congress reflect the diversity that is our nation. Thank you. [applause] good afternoon. I am from virginia. So, i might get in trouble for this, but thank you for inviting us for what i am told is a real today. On behalf of diversity and inclusion in the house of representatives, thanks for having us. My name is dr. Stacia joy moon and i serve as director as the officer of equity and inclusion. As part of my role in accepting space, michael my pronouns are she paris if anyone joining us in person or streaming online, i would like to describe myself. I am a black woman. I am wearing the brightest orange suit you could imagine. I have the biggest bamboo earrings and the brightest red lips. Thank you for seeing me. [applause] the office of diversity and inclusion is a nonpartisan and nonlegislative support office charged with creating and cultivating a congressional workforce that is reflective of the american people. My office envisions to serve as an essential resource in helping to advance representation in the congressional workforce by delivering Optimal Services to the entire community. Our office is committed to the vision in support of our overarching goal, to put the people in the peoples house for commitment commitment, integrity and belonging are our core values. In addition to maintaining capabilities for communications, operations and management, my office also provides candidate services, member services, research and analytics. Before we get started, i would like to highlight the incredible work of my team. Many of whom are here today and who i would argue are the hardest working staffers in congress. Who also will be available to provide candidate services to you wall to see how you can connect to careers alongside the white house Integer Program which is here today. We are really an employer of choice. In addition to a gambit of careers ranging from schedulers to chief of staff, we offer a internships and student loan repayment. Since its inception, we have assisted approximately 2600 job seekers. Conducted over 1500 consultations. Over 6400 resumes referred. You have helped candidates land over 730 careers on capitol hill. [applause] we are working hard and we are really putting people to work. Our office has hosted a series of workshops, mock interviews, Linkedin Profile reviews come a head shot, office hours, fireside chats. We have connected with over 8600 attendees in just under three years. We recently launched a Pilot Program which is specifically designed to connect candidates across the nationally dispersed workforce. That has resulted in over 10,500 candidates so far, 55 identify as bipoc. 12 individuals with disabilities. 6 individuals who serve in the military. That is just some part of our portfolio. We have activities where we help Bring Congress to communities, cities and campuses, which has helped us connect over 3000 jobseekers. Todays event to kick off the White House Initiative with an historically black college conference, just another example. I would like to congratulate dr. Vincent on his appointment dr. Vinson on his appointment and to think the entire Howard University team today. And now todays distinguished panel. I am happy to present the professionals. First, it is my honor to introduce todays moderator, stacey abrams. The inaugural Ronald Walter inaugural chair for black policy at howard. [applause] she is joined by ms. Patricia walters, who helped establish this endowed chair on behalf of her late husband dr. Ronald walters. [applause] i know that she told us about her bag, 2. 5 Million Dollars, but understand to establish a chair is no small feat in black women academia. She has joined today by congresswoman and Howard University alum sheila sharpless mccormick. Sheila cherfilusmccormick. Also, congresswoman jasmine crockett. I would like to thank you because todays panel is a brainchild of us an chief of staff. Thank you for making this happen. [applause]congresswoman sidney kim leverett of [applause] and then we have summer lee, who in addition to being a congresswoman and howard alum is representative of the district of pennsylvania. Also, delta for to dont get me in trouble. I might be a little bit biased because she is my congresswoman, gender jennifer mcclellan, the first black woman to represent in congress on behalf of the commonwealth of virginia. She represents the Fourth District and is also a member of delta sigma theta. [applause] now, the floor is yours ms. Abrams. Thank you. Help me thank dr. Moon for her leadership. [applause] dr. Vinson, ms. Walters, thank you all so much. I am going to start with a couple of round robin questions. And then go to each of you with specific questions. Ok . I was joking. [laughter] so, im going to start with you. What was your very first job in politics . Was it compensated, uncompensated . What was the first time you actually had a job politics . I was an organizer first of all, voter registration. When i was in college. But then, i was an organizer in 2016 during the general campaign. Compensated. I was appointed to several boards in my community. I was always in business and law and health care. I served on diversity boards for our school board, hiring and policies. I served on different boards for black women investing. Different businesses and financial means for that was really my first. And then here in congress. My first unpaid was as a volunteer working with my grandmother to get Harold Washington elected as the first black mayor of chicago. [applause] and then my first paid position was actually working for my boss Holly J Mitchell to help run her campaign as she ran to be in the california state assembly. I was an intern in the District Office in richmond for then senator chuck rall. And then i volunteered on every campaign since i was 18. Much like a lot of my contemporaries when it comes to politics. My very First Campaign that i cant was obamas campaign. That was my very first entrance into politics. Right after that, i was asked to be the chair of the Democratic Party in east texas. I ended up becoming appointed to that position, then elected the youngest black chair of the Democratic Party in the state of texas. [applause] second question what was her campaign for . My campaign, my first one was it is our time. I was identifying with the change we were going through and the need that we had for our generation to step up and take its proper place. Especially in florida. It was our moment to fight back these woke ideologies. I tell people, when they say well, that means black. That is us. We need to fight them directly and understand that this war is on us. It is our time to capture our destiny and stand up for ourselves. [indiscernible] we didnt have no time for a slogan. I was blessed, i think, to be in a super blue district. Also a proud member of the board for planned parenthood los angeles. For me, it was about fighting for our democracy, supremacists coming out of the woodwork, coming out of everywhere trying to yank away our rights to our bodies, to vote, to live, to love, to get educated. So, we just talked about the fundamentals and what was needed. The rights to fair housing. Housing period. Jobs, generational wealth. We talked about all of those things throughout the campaign. And a wonderful i may say. Have you all heard of that artist . If you havent, you have to do some research. I met her as a congresswoman, i liked her. Oh, my god, shes one of my favorite artists and i have a piece on exhibit here at howard thats in friday private collection. I didnt have time far slogan. I had a oneweek primary. Say that again. I had a oneweek primary. It was a firehouse primary so my congressman donna passed away so basically my slogan was vote october 21 for jennifer but we did break the turnout record for a firehouse primary in virginia. And then my slogan was, on february 22, im not elected yet and so we did not have time for a slogan. But i had a slogan for her. It was stay ready so you aint got to get ready. That was my slogan for her. We went back for us. It was a play on the United States but it was also embodying what people dont typically feel they get in politics, which is someone actually working for all of us so that is what we went by. At the time that i was running i kept telling people that we are in the midst of a modernday civil rights movement. Not everyone fully understood what that meant but i think people are starting to understand a little better now. I came from the civil right world. Thats what i did and that was a big driving force for me deciding that it wasnt good enough to fight one case at a time, one Police Brutality case at a time. I needed to change the systems that exist in and of themselvesles and start to make these systems work for all of us instead of only working for a select few. You mentioned that your oh, i apologize. [laughter] honestly, i thank you for that. My slogan was dare to move forward. I had to think about it. I was running in 2018, my First Campaign for state house. I think my unofficial was did you even notice that . I was running against a 22year politician, legacy family. I was still a 21yearold black woman. Not in politics, almost straight out of howard. We actually deserve more, we can have more and even though were in an area where people arent used to seeing our particular brand of politics, that was precisely needed in that moment. Heres my question. You live in a blue district. I believe its indigo blue. Very, yes. And you came toe a congress that is not quite that shade. Talk a little bit about how you have navigated coming in a space where from seems to be unanimity or at least a purpose to a place that has often tried to force you to recore what you believe and how youre navigating that. I have never been in a space where there is perpetual gaslighting going on. I come from very far away in a land called california. We eat. Differently, everything. We do yoga. Its strange. And i came from the state legislature, which was a super majority and so oftentimes when we are battling things like taking slavery and involunteerentary servitude out of our state legislation, which, by the way, democrats killed, we are still with our own. There is oftentimes a false sense of security when you are doing that because oftentimes the values are still there even though youre trying to negotiate the lo givessickings of pragmatism around a particular bill or item. The republicans in the Slate Legislature are far month rational. They have to be. There are a very few districts in california that are maroon or redded and they can be outlandish. Coming here is a true of true culture shock. Most of this, i hope is perform active but even the performances are egregious. Often you are using your ability to exist, your right to correct someone and your purpose, which is representing your constituents and fighting for the vaults that got you here that is necessary to protect all of us and our ability to have a future. Representative mccormick, as the Business Owner who sits for Congress Talking<\/a> about female representation in Public Office<\/a>. So honored today to have special guest on our campus. In the form of freshman women from the congress. They are members of the Congressional Black Caucus<\/a>. We are pleased that they took time out of their busy schedules , the day after the Congressional Black Caucus<\/a> Foundation Annual<\/a> conference. As anybody knows, they worked hard during that time period. We thank them for coming to the campus today and for being with us and we look forward to working with their offices, getting more howard students working in internships and more howard students hired in congress. They have brought staff with them today. You can talk to students. If you are interested in careers on the hill, look for the desk outside and you can talk with them about being a part of the government and making the government a better place to be because we know it is going to be better, just because of the new members we have in congress. [applause] i want to offer a very special thank you to dr. Moon, head of the Diversity Office<\/a> for the house of representatives. [applause] many of you did not know that there was an office created for diversity and inclusion in congress. Of course, by the time you hear about it, there are attacks on that office. We are hoping we can keep that office because it is very important to the diversity for the congress. It is important for the diversity in the country. We are very happy that she reached out today reached out to Howard University<\/a>. I also want to thank dr. Joseph leonard, assistant Vice President<\/a> of external affairs, for being the point of contact here at howard to bring us all together. And also, i want to thank our new president vincent for joining us today. [applause] we know that he has just been here for less than a month and he has a lot on his plate. He took the time today to come up to this event and come and meet the members of congress. Finally, i want to say that we are going to do here at Howard University<\/a>, we are going to do our part to work with dr. Moons office, with the Congressional Office<\/a> to make sure that howard students know about opportunities that are available and to make certain that our students are ready when they come to the. Come to the congress. I need to introduce one special guest we have here today. Ms. Patricia walters. [applause] the chair of the board of the ron Walton Center<\/a> and whose husband was here at Howard University<\/a> for 25 years in the Political Science<\/a> department. And also, we have to mention that she donated her Art Collection<\/a> to Howard University<\/a> a couple of years ago and to those of you who have time, students, you need to find time to go and look at the exhibit in the art gallery here at Howard University<\/a>. It is a massive collection and we are so pleased of her donation to the university. [indiscernible] [laughter] [applause] ok. Dr. Moon is going to introduce stacey abrams. Right now, before we get to that, tells us what to do. We love her. I am to bring to the podium our president of Howard University<\/a> dr. Ben jensen the third. What number are you . The 18th president of Howard University<\/a>. [applause] thank you so much. It is an honor and a pleasure to be here with all of you. And of course our esteemed congresswomen who have agreed to travel to campus and spend time with us to help us inspire the next generation of leaders right here at Howard University<\/a>. In preparing for this panel, i was struck how every Single Person<\/a> on this stage emphasizes with they started their career in Public Service<\/a>. They have done so to address longstanding issues in their communities. And to uplift the voices of those who often go unanswered. In the fight for civil rights in america, when you look back at the legacy of the civil rights struggles, from the years of the 1800s and forward, you will always and consistently find that black women coordinated many of the seminal events that have led to civil rights in america. Stretching from the underground railroad to the organization of freedom rides, our women have continually been outspoken advocates for equity and inclusion, to this day. Standing up for the rights of the marginalized across the United States<\/a>. Today, we are joined by remarkable women who continue this grand tradition of standing up for what is right and for fighting for policies and programs that address longstanding inequities. Given our universitys commitment to truth in service, it is no accident that two freshman members of the u. S. House of representative, congresswoman summer lee. [applause] and sheila mccormick. [applause] both are proud alumni of Howard University<\/a>. [applause] i am also here, and i would love to welcome stacey abrams, who is serving as the inaugural law ron walters endowed chair for greatness in black politics. [applause] collectively, we want to thank ms. Patricia walters, though widow of dr. Ron walters, for her generous donation Howard University<\/a> which facilitated the creation of this chair. It is my hope as your president that the students here today will take full advantage of the opportunity to begin thinking about your past in Howard University<\/a> your path. I would encourage each of you to make connections with our congresswomen. I also want to encourage you to build strong coalitions amongst yourselves for your howard classmates are likely to be in your lives forever. So please, be intentional and working together to help each other. To reach your highest potential. And to lead our planet to a more just and equitable future. Thank you again. I want to thank the members again for being with us today. I now turn the program over to dr. Moon, who is another leader fighting every day in purposeful ways to make sure that the halls of congress reflect the diversity that is our nation. Thank you. [applause] good afternoon. I am from virginia. So, i might get in trouble for this, but thank you for inviting us for what i am told is a real today. On behalf of diversity and inclusion in the house of representatives, thanks for having us. My name is dr. Stacia joy moon and i serve as director as the officer of equity and inclusion. As part of my role in accepting space, michael my pronouns are she paris if anyone joining us in person or streaming online, i would like to describe myself. I am a black woman. I am wearing the brightest orange suit you could imagine. I have the biggest bamboo earrings and the brightest red lips. Thank you for seeing me. [applause] the office of diversity and inclusion is a nonpartisan and nonlegislative support office charged with creating and cultivating a congressional workforce that is reflective of the american people. My office envisions to serve as an essential resource in helping to advance representation in the congressional workforce by delivering Optimal Services<\/a> to the entire community. Our office is committed to the vision in support of our overarching goal, to put the people in the peoples house for commitment commitment, integrity and belonging are our core values. In addition to maintaining capabilities for communications, operations and management, my office also provides candidate services, member services, research and analytics. Before we get started, i would like to highlight the incredible work of my team. Many of whom are here today and who i would argue are the hardest working staffers in congress. Who also will be available to provide candidate services to you wall to see how you can connect to careers alongside the white house Integer Program<\/a> which is here today. We are really an employer of choice. In addition to a gambit of careers ranging from schedulers to chief of staff, we offer a internships and student loan repayment. Since its inception, we have assisted approximately 2600 job seekers. Conducted over 1500 consultations. Over 6400 resumes referred. You have helped candidates land over 730 careers on capitol hill. [applause] we are working hard and we are really putting people to work. Our office has hosted a series of workshops, mock interviews, Linkedin Profile<\/a> reviews come a head shot, office hours, fireside chats. We have connected with over 8600 attendees in just under three years. We recently launched a Pilot Program<\/a> which is specifically designed to connect candidates across the nationally dispersed workforce. That has resulted in over 10,500 candidates so far, 55 identify as bipoc. 12 individuals with disabilities. 6 individuals who serve in the military. That is just some part of our portfolio. We have activities where we help Bring Congress<\/a> to communities, cities and campuses, which has helped us connect over 3000 jobseekers. Todays event to kick off the White House Initiative<\/a> with an historically black college conference, just another example. I would like to congratulate dr. Vincent on his appointment dr. Vinson on his appointment and to think the entire Howard University<\/a> team today. And now todays distinguished panel. I am happy to present the professionals. First, it is my honor to introduce todays moderator, stacey abrams. The inaugural Ronald Walter<\/a> inaugural chair for black policy at howard. [applause] she is joined by ms. Patricia walters, who helped establish this endowed chair on behalf of her late husband dr. Ronald walters. [applause] i know that she told us about her bag, 2. 5 Million Dollar<\/a>s, but understand to establish a chair is no small feat in black women academia. She has joined today by congresswoman and Howard University<\/a> alum sheila sharpless mccormick. Sheila cherfilusmccormick. Also, congresswoman jasmine crockett. I would like to thank you because todays panel is a brainchild of us an chief of staff. Thank you for making this happen. [applause]congresswoman sidney kim leverett of [applause] and then we have summer lee, who in addition to being a congresswoman and howard alum is representative of the district of pennsylvania. Also, delta for to dont get me in trouble. I might be a little bit biased because she is my congresswoman, gender jennifer mcclellan, the first black woman to represent in congress on behalf of the commonwealth of virginia. She represents the Fourth District<\/a> and is also a member of delta sigma theta. [applause] now, the floor is yours ms. Abrams. Thank you. Help me thank dr. Moon for her leadership. [applause] dr. Vinson, ms. Walters, thank you all so much. I am going to start with a couple of round robin questions. And then go to each of you with specific questions. Ok . I was joking. [laughter] so, im going to start with you. What was your very first job in politics . Was it compensated, uncompensated . What was the first time you actually had a job politics . I was an organizer first of all, voter registration. When i was in college. But then, i was an organizer in 2016 during the general campaign. Compensated. I was appointed to several boards in my community. I was always in business and law and health care. I served on diversity boards for our school board, hiring and policies. I served on different boards for black women investing. Different businesses and financial means for that was really my first. And then here in congress. My first unpaid was as a volunteer working with my grandmother to get Harold Washington<\/a> elected as the first black mayor of chicago. [applause] and then my first paid position was actually working for my boss Holly J Mitchell<\/a> to help run her campaign as she ran to be in the california state assembly. I was an intern in the District Office<\/a> in richmond for then senator chuck rall. And then i volunteered on every campaign since i was 18. Much like a lot of my contemporaries when it comes to politics. My very First Campaign<\/a> that i cant was obamas campaign. That was my very first entrance into politics. Right after that, i was asked to be the chair of the Democratic Party<\/a> in east texas. I ended up becoming appointed to that position, then elected the youngest black chair of the Democratic Party<\/a> in the state of texas. [applause] second question what was her campaign for . My campaign, my first one was it is our time. I was identifying with the change we were going through and the need that we had for our generation to step up and take its proper place. Especially in florida. It was our moment to fight back these woke ideologies. I tell people, when they say well, that means black. That is us. We need to fight them directly and understand that this war is on us. It is our time to capture our destiny and stand up for ourselves. [indiscernible] we didnt have no time for a slogan. I was blessed, i think, to be in a super blue district. Also a proud member of the board for planned parenthood los angeles. For me, it was about fighting for our democracy, supremacists coming out of the woodwork, coming out of everywhere trying to yank away our rights to our bodies, to vote, to live, to love, to get educated. So, we just talked about the fundamentals and what was needed. The rights to fair housing. Housing period. Jobs, generational wealth. We talked about all of those things throughout the campaign. And a wonderful i may say. Have you all heard of that artist . If you havent, you have to do some research. I met her as a congresswoman, i liked her. Oh, my god, shes one of my favorite artists and i have a piece on exhibit here at howard thats in friday private collection. I didnt have time far slogan. I had a oneweek primary. Say that again. I had a oneweek primary. It was a firehouse primary so my congressman donna passed away so basically my slogan was vote october 21 for jennifer but we did break the turnout record for a firehouse primary in virginia. And then my slogan was, on february 22, im not elected yet and so we did not have time for a slogan. But i had a slogan for her. It was stay ready so you aint got to get ready. That was my slogan for her. We went back for us. It was a play on the United States<\/a> but it was also embodying what people dont typically feel they get in politics, which is someone actually working for all of us so that is what we went by. At the time that i was running i kept telling people that we are in the midst of a modernday civil rights movement. Not everyone fully understood what that meant but i think people are starting to understand a little better now. I came from the civil right world. Thats what i did and that was a big driving force for me deciding that it wasnt good enough to fight one case at a time, one Police Brutality<\/a> case at a time. I needed to change the systems that exist in and of themselvesles and start to make these systems work for all of us instead of only working for a select few. You mentioned that your oh, i apologize. [laughter] honestly, i thank you for that. My slogan was dare to move forward. I had to think about it. I was running in 2018, my First Campaign<\/a> for state house. I think my unofficial was did you even notice that . I was running against a 22year politician, legacy family. I was still a 21yearold black woman. Not in politics, almost straight out of howard. We actually deserve more, we can have more and even though were in an area where people arent used to seeing our particular brand of politics, that was precisely needed in that moment. Heres my question. You live in a blue district. I believe its indigo blue. Very, yes. And you came toe a congress that is not quite that shade. Talk a little bit about how you have navigated coming in a space where from seems to be unanimity or at least a purpose to a place that has often tried to force you to recore what you believe and how youre navigating that. I have never been in a space where there is perpetual gaslighting going on. I come from very far away in a land called california. We eat. Differently, everything. We do yoga. Its strange. And i came from the state legislature, which was a super majority and so oftentimes when we are battling things like taking slavery and involunteerentary servitude out of our state legislation, which, by the way, democrats killed, we are still with our own. There is oftentimes a false sense of security when you are doing that because oftentimes the values are still there even though youre trying to negotiate the lo givessickings of pragmatism around a particular bill or item. The republicans in the Slate Legislature<\/a> are far month rational. They have to be. There are a very few districts in california that are maroon or redded and they can be outlandish. Coming here is a true of true culture shock. Most of this, i hope is perform active but even the performances are egregious. Often you are using your ability to exist, your right to correct someone and your purpose, which is representing your constituents and fighting for the vaults that got you here that is necessary to protect all of us and our ability to have a future. Representative mccormick, as the Business Owner<\/a> who sits for Public Office<\/a>, we often here this dismissal of the role of business leadersal politicians and more importantly, we dont often hear that lauded within black community as a pathway to politics. You mentioned the boards that you served on. Can you talk about the intersection and why it was so important for you to leave a very thriving business and stands for Public Office<\/a> and what you hoped to accomplish. Being in business, one of the things i saw was how every day we were deprived of being prime contractor opportunities. We were a subcontractor. And even when we look at pensions. Pensions within the black community is not something that we talk about. Thats not how we live so i said if i cant step out and do something to break that ceiling we will never actually recognize our potential of growth and economic freedom. Were told if we work hard we achieve but realistically, we work harder than our counterparts and get paid left. We invest our money over and over in our businesses while our counterparts get business loanings. It was imperative that i could use my kills as a business leader, my kill skill as a businesswoman who fought to get contracts. My understanding of how important it is to employ black people and pay them a fair wage. My district is a huge black community and the jobs that we were bringing in, we brought in probably over 10,000 jobs. During the pandemic, we were the largest blackwomen owned business in the entire state and the government governor at one points refused to vaccinate the black and brown communities and he refused to hire us. Even the health care professionalsful we took our Vocational School<\/a> and went out in the community and taught people for free and then we actually vaccinated them. When i saw how much financial wealth went into that Community Within<\/a> nose six months, i saidcant fight here. So the fights for Economic Justice<\/a> a real fight and im so happy were going at it from every angle. Also in educational opportunities. Oversight for africa and the caribbean, were making sure we have for black companies. Representative mcclellan, you and i both met when we were both in the minority in the legislature. In very stark contrast to being in deep blue, you often have been swimming in maroon and red. You got to Congress Just<\/a> as it was shifting again. Can you talk about the weapons you brought with you from navigating in the Virginia Legislature<\/a> to congress . Sure. I was a 32yearold black woman from the most democratic district in the state in a body that was mostly white, republican men over 50. I very quickly figured out everybodys political views and how they vote is shaped by their Life Experiences<\/a> and what they know so i had to meet them wherer in to figure out why do you believe what you believe ane experiences and any family stories and when you do that, sometimes you finds Common Ground<\/a> or at least, which is equally as important, you finds where you will never find Common Ground<\/a> and you dont waste your energy there. You use your energy where you can pull them closer to where you are and then build from that. So i was able to get over 300 pieces of legislation passed and then we got a democratic trifecta for two years and once you get the majority, you push influence everything you can. So ive been in the minority, in the super majority, ive been in divided government. And that helped me here, even though were in the minority again. We will get the majority in two years and in the meantime, those lessons have been very, very valuable. To representative crockett and representative lee, im going to guess that you are the two youngest people sitting on in stage. [laughter] actually, we are. We are. I said im guessing. [laughter] you said you finished law school but yes you could also be 79 so whichever one [laughter] contemporaries as contemporaries that have recently been in the seats that our students are in can you talk a little bit about your transition into elected office and what you would tell them they want to stand for office. What should they be thinking about right now if they want to be in the seats you occupy . Youre closest to them. [laughter] i am not that close to them but when i first ran for office, i would be completely i had never thought of myself as entering into politics. I never conceived it or considered it. Not until the moment somebody first came to me and said, hey, have you ever considered running for office . That was the first time i had ever considered running for office. Were so use todays seeing and experience a system that is negative, thats harmful, a system that isnt fit for us that we dont think is the space for us. If i were you and the way i would think about it is how can i and what can i bring that fits into this system right now . Up dont need to conform. This system needs you as you are right now. The experience you have in your life. It needs that so much more than it needs you to be polished, to wear a mask, to learn how to talk like a politician. It needs to you walk and talk and be exactly how you are so when you are thinking about what do you want in worlds to look like, what are you trying to build . Whats Worth Building<\/a> for and you whats worth fighting for . That is your politics. Finds who you were politically. Not democrat, republican, independents. What are your politics. What are the things that keep you up at night, your north star when youre coming into these places, these places are cycling, not built for us so if you dont have your north star close to you, youre going to drown. Are you here for Racial Justice<\/a> . Trans and queer rights. If youre here to shift the system, to change the game. Those are your politics, develop them. You dont have to be political but know your politics very well. Explore your politics and when youre ready to run, in the meantime finds other politicians, other candidates who share those politics and can help you develop them. [applause] , see, she was readyth she stay ready. Im going to say, a lot of times its usual us that doubt ourselves but when you look at some of my colleagues, especially on my oversight committee, i sit there and say how is it that we are sitting in the same body . Yeah, because, you know, im going to leave it there. Im sorry not to go there. We have to save that for impeachment this week but nevertheless, dont ever doubt yourselves. Are you more than enough. This is building on what some are just saying and from a practical standpoint, you need to get everything that you can. I want you to be well prepared. As we serve in this body we know that we can make or break it for the next generation of black leaders so we take it very seriously. I serve as the little representative for my freshman class. The entire class of 35, soon to be 36 freshmen and in this capacity, im only the first black woman to be elected after Shirley Chisholm<\/a> so weve not had democratic leadership that had black women, number one but number two, its really important that we make sure that there are opportunities for those that come behind us. Its one of the reasons were sitting on this stage right now. Because we recognize that what we do in this capacity can easily reflect on the opportunities you do or dont have so i want you to be prepared. Ive always told people, its cool too say i want to run for office but how are you going to prepared for that one . Number one, you have to be prepared for the run and number two, you have to be prepared to serve. Those are two completely different things. We have that lot of people who know how to run and how to be a cool person and when they get into office im not going to talk about a former president we had listen, they cant govern. They look at us and unfortunately we may not have led a day in our levers but let me tell you, the things that i do can uncomfortable or fortunately help or hurt you so its very important that you make sure youre prepared. I have an intern in this offers. Shes sitting here somewhere. Kennedy is somewhere. When my interns come in, i say were going to make sure youre carrying more than coffee i dont even drink coach but we dont do those things to our interns. Whatever opportunities you get, here or elsewhere, in the classroom, dont let somebody take you to. Isay where do you want to do go and what can i do to make sure you get what you need . So in every experience in life make sure youre getting everything that you can so that you can be the best version of you when it is time to run. One thing ive always told candidates. When they say i want to run for offers, i tell them go work on somebodys campaign first. Because you dont know what it takes to run for office. It aint what you see on tv. Its a lot more than that you have to go and learn and then decide if you really wants to do this. [applause] can i say one thing . And this is going to sound counter brutive but do not be afraid to lose. I ran for governor and i lost. And it sucked. I know the feeling. [laughter] it sucked but i learned a lot. I came from a blue district. It was the first time i had ever been in a televised detectives. I was in five of them. It was the first time id ever had tv commercials. I learned so much that when this opportunity came i was ready to go but i wouldnt have been ready had i not stepped guard and i knew i was going to lose. I was already committed, already running but threaten a former governor decided to come back and run. Even though there were five of us in the race and i had more experience nan all the rest of them combined, i wasnt a former governor and sometimes and this ised a of another thing you have to remember. Sometimes the idea of supporting the first is more important to people than actually doing it. I knew that. I did it theyve and then this opportunity came and i was ready to go and i also want to give summer her flowers because shes also a first. The first black woman elected to the commonwealth of pennsylvania. [applause] and its hard to be the first but if we dont get the first, we dont get the second or the fifth or the 100th. Absolutely. Youre absolutely right. When i ran for congress my background is in First Quarter<\/a> care. I was running for congress. Wed never ian a haitian democrat ever win in the United States<\/a>. Everybody thought it could not be done. I would encourage you to be authentic and tell your authentic story. People connected connectedded with me. Not because i ran a Million Dollar<\/a> business. They contributed me because i was a single mother, because i was a child of immigrants who had to fight for everything in life. I grew up in any neighborhood with my own issues and watched me involve. Theyre wanted that little girl who evolved to win this for the first time. So be authentic and speak about your pain. Youre not the only one whos feeling it. If you are in that community and youre raising that child by themselves, i guarantee there are many people raising children by themselves. I was raising a child on disability. I didnt know where to go, what to do and i had money to pay for it. When we struggled with diseases in my family, my communities suffered too but because of my pride, we dont talk about the things we talk about in our family. Mental health, we never talk about in our families. Traumatic disorders. Talk about that and be authentic and they will follow you and want you to win. [applause] im say two short things. One is dont be afraid to explore all aspects of who you were and what youre interested in. My journey was not linear, i went to college and i got a degree in Political Science<\/a> but i entered into the art world, the nonprofit art world and then i was in the movie industry. I eventually landed in a space that brought me back here but i can tell you how important it was for me and my life ice journey to be touched by other industries and sectors outside of politics. You cannot live a singular life. You must begin to explore the things you like and the things you dont like. The second thing is, im not a first of anything. The black women were in all of the seeps they ran for. And so you get overlooked. Oh, you have a past. Shes helping you. So the assumption is youre not that smart. Youre probably going to get it because of legacy and you dont have to work as hard. So it cuts both ways. You have to show your grit and your greats regardless, if youre the first or 91ness. At the end of the day, people are trying to pressure you to see what youre made of so i also say running for office is not an exercise in selfdiscovery. Know who you are and figure out how to be the best at what you want to be because you will be tested. Every single day. So find it. Hold on to it. Hone it, have a craft, have something that you can be expert in because invariably you will be forced to lean on it at a very inopportune moment in your life. Were now going to open it up to questions. Raise your hand. If you stand up, well bring you the mic. Can you say your name, your major and where youre from. And it is a question. Not an interrogatory. Because you limit your voice at the end. Im john, a sophomore Political Science<\/a> major from the great state of ohio. [applause] thank you. I appreciate it. I am guildy to have you all here right now. So excited. I want to ask you about the infrastructure of the house and senate as they talk about stuff like that. I was researching carol brown and she was talking about how she had to work with segregationists in the senate so when you are working on legislation, what is the rule and how do you balance working with those people who are advocating to remove our history from the schoolbooks and stuff like that . How do you balance that, work with that . Im going to tag jennifer is leaning forward. Did you want it . I was going to go to your texas because you have the most experience with this. Under florida we have the Freedom Caucus<\/a> and theyre as crazy as i dont know, but we have very candid conversations and when they employ us, they dont talk about that crazy stuff. I do panels all the time with some of my republican counterparts and they dont talk like that but they do believe it. We talk about what we agree upon. One thing we agree upon right now is our base. So we were able to put together these bills. We also put together an a. E. D. Bill because we saw so many people having congestive heart failure. You have to work on what you agree on and work from there. If im in Foreign Affairs<\/a> and you know my child is immigrant, dont you dare talk about illegal aliens who are woman coming in and invading. Respect me and my story. We had an issue with one of my counterparts. You were in the military, and i respect you. I would never come against you like that so dont you come against me and ever since then we have Common Ground<\/a>. [applause] Common Ground<\/a>, huh, interesting concept interesting the fact that were about to shut down. They cant get along with themselves let alone kind of reach across the aisle a lot of times but i came from the texas house, which was reaching out toward everything that was regressive. One thing very early on in the conversation was perform active politics. And people dont know how many on the far right side or actually performing. Performing. They would say this is the way i get reelected but i actually dont believe in. It was just a bad situation because at the end of the day your vote is just as harmful. They were drawing the state congressional lines. 95 of them were people of color, 5 were angelos and they used these new lines and somehow decided they were going to decrease the foot print of black seats in the states. Mind you, they didnt add any new angelos so they decide had in Sheila Jackson<\/a> and al green, two of the most senior members in texas, black vote, decided to pair them together and they only needed one black person. So as we were trying to get them unpaired, they were telling me about how much their constituents didnt like them but we would get it done behind closed doors and ultimately we did get them unpaired but finding out who is really drinking the koolaid is the first hurdle because at least sometimes you can back door and get some things through if you know theres just a performer vs. That person that really drinks the koolaid. Otherwise i think its important to call them out because i cant let the misinformation, disinformation continue to spread throughout our country. Its important that i call it out in that moment and make sure that hopefully we can turn the tide with whats going on and i do know for sure that one person is going to be gone out of the house who is the queen of doing all is going to be gone as well. I didnt say any name, but even beyond that, i will say there are those we get on them because we say silence is complacency. There are those that are silent that literally do disagree. I do not work too well with the silent ones. I can tell you i have bipartisanship on a number of bills that i have. As well as i have senators on so bipartisan cooperation on bills. Most people would not think it is possible, but it is a lot of those in silence. They want to do everything they can to not be the next liz cheney. She spoke up and unfortunately they got rid of her. Host i will take one more question. Right there. Right there. Hello, my name is jay tigre. I am us sophomore Political Science<\/a> major from richmond, california. Im here representing the Howard University<\/a> coalition a lot of the work that we do focuses on engagement and getting more howard students registered to vote and voting. We participate in cbc week and we heard that hbcu Voter Participation<\/a> went down 10 in the last election. My question is, how can we not only get our people registered to vote, but what more can we do as young people to get more of us involved in not only the every four years election but also our local elections as well. Thank you. [applause] guest thank you all for your work. That is incredibly important. We need to replicate that. How we get more people especially young people engaged in politics is understanding the role that we theres a lot of your control of engaging your classmates, talk about what they care about and sending to them. Not saying you should hear about this or that candidate, but find out the things that makes your colleague move. Organize things around that. Organize is the buzzword. It is time, it is emotional capacity, getting up late, early, talking to people you do not want to talk to about issues that are difficult to talk about. The second thing is on us. It is the candidate. When we see a drop in democratic turnout with young people and black folks it is reflected with the candidates on the ballot. Im sorry to say but i will say it when we lost from obama to trump there was a 7 decrease in black turnout and 1 increase of white turnout. What happened is that in the primaries across the country we have an opportunity to make sure there are black people, young people, women and progressives who ever are on the ballot to be represented. There are always groups that talk about voter turnout and engagement. Theres things we need to run in every election and we need to vote and run every election. We need to run and we deserve to see ourselves in every election. When you have students running you now have representation in your Democratic Committee<\/a> structure. That builds a bridge so that people can understand politics. When they have people that come to your campus and talk your language and they understand what you care about, they are more likely to come out and support candidates. We deserve to see candidates who fight for us and invest in us rather than coming only when it is time to vote. So it is twopronged we all have to do more and we need to help you. Let me add to this. I will give jennifer and sidney privilege first. Guest i will say that some people do not need to run. [laughter] guest the other thing is thank you for the work you are doing. Congratulations to howard for winning the flaming something. You are champions. I saw that this morning give it up for howard. [laughter] i know, california, do your homework. Do your homework. Ask questions, people want to jump into the middle of the story and talk about what they are doing, what you need from them, all of that. Explaining stuff to folks for them. Sometimes it is important to take a pause and ask questions and listen. People will tell you how they are feeling and why. Usually the thing that is most pressing for them is the first thing they say. Ask questions, lean in, find out why people are feeling the way they are feeling. Use all the information, experience, engagement, compassion that you have to tease out more and more so you can go back to them with more information. At the end of the day, we are all fighting for the same thing and that truly right now in this moment is to be alive. Is to be alive. So youre the ones with all of the information, the armor, the omer armor of democracy, the armor of freedom, the armor of right. It is our collective job to give you the support you need to go in those spaces and ask the questions and the information you need to close the deal. Host i will do 30 seconds starting with jasmine and then i give the last for the whole court for everything you need to say. I will say voting is an emotional thing. You have to connect on an emotional level area your friends or contemporaries may not be able to sit in this space and you need to communicate what you are doing and what the people are not doing for them so they can be moved to say it is time for me to go vote. Asked both questions at one time. Tell your story, tell our story. Those people the people who lived in jim crow are now dying off. They carried this story with us. I stand up and talk about how my father and others had to play a poll tax. Because people on the other side of the capital confederacy and here they [indiscernible] when you personalize it you breakthrough. We have to meet each other where we are because your generation, unlike us up here, we see progress. All you see is regression. Youre the first member of your family to lose a constitutional right in your lifetime. My guess is, the first, you all were probably in Elementary School<\/a> when barack obama was elected president. The first election 2016, may be. Right. All you have seen is regression. We need to meet you where you are but you also have got to meet us where we are because we can learn from each other and help translate across generations. We are gen x we have to translate for everybody. We are the bridge we will bridge you to everybody else so you can tell your story and we can tell hours and together we can move forward. [laughter] yes. [laughter] i want to be quick. I will say be very practical. I am a mother and i will tell you we we have elections people are suffering and they cannot listen to you or hear you when they are suffering. Say we are going to have a party, we will feed you, why dont you come in. We meet the basic needs. I let everybody know on sunday you are not drinking or eating unless you voted. And they understand that my kids and my sons here do not ask me to send you money if you did not vote yet. So be very clear on that. Host [laughter] ok. I was not expecting this. Is this on . What do i say . Well let me just say this. This is vitally important, especially to the black community and the latino community. This is the most important election of our lifetime. It is, indeed. We have to get out to vote. You have to encourage your roommates, they may say, oh biden is too old he is may be getting a little bit senile, youve got to look at what is on the other side of the table. The other side of the table is trump and i do not need to say anything more. [laughter] about that because why not . If more of our people and more young White College<\/a> student had gotten out and supported Hillary Clinton<\/a> when she run for president we would not be sitting up here with the Supreme Court<\/a> that has done away with roe v. Wade and affirmative action and redistricting. Host i close by saying thank you to our congressional leaders. Thank you to mrs. Walters. [applause] host i will add that in response to this voting is not magic. Voting is medicine. Magic you do something once and it is done, medicine you keep taking it because if you dont whatever is wrong is coming back and bringing friends. The other is to remember that your friends do not think they are into politics but remind them politics is into them and it is a stalker. It will find you where you are and tried to take away from you whatever you love the only way to fight back is to do what these women have told you to do which is stand up, speak up, show up, lets get it done. Thank you so much. [applause] first of all i would like to thank everyone for taking the time to be here today. We understand a lot is happening on the hill right now. To take this time is not a small ask. I want to reiterate we are nonpartisan on legislative office. If youre interested in careers that align, we want you to come meet us in the hallway, however, we are here for everybody on all ideological spectrum sound however you full. There are careers for you because we do not believe the careers are red or blue as an issue. We really are here. Make sure you connect with us. One were think i was saying while the members are here it is the members behind those that get them here. If youre a support staffer in an office could you please stand . That includes my team. We want to celebrate you in this moment too. [applause] thank you guys so much for doing the work. I would like to say one more time thank you to cspan. When people look at cnn, fox news, newsmax, a lot of the members you cannot touch or feel they feel like gears to you you do not have access to. We really wanted to bring them here so they can understand they are supporting members, college graduates, haitian immigrants, they are you they wanted to make this real so when you look you can see yourself. Thank you guys so much. If they have time for photos they will do that, but they may have to hit the road. But thank you again so much and to my team for joining us up on stage. [applause] [indiscernible] [captions Copyright National<\/a> cable satellite corp. 2023] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] [indiscernible] announcer tonight watch cspans new series in partnership with a library of congress. Books that changed america. They will feature the federalist a compilation of essays that were written in 17 88. Written by James Madison<\/a> and john jay and others with the constitution. The u. S. Court of appeals for the armed forces and colleen the director of graduate studies school of economic thought at Arizona State<\/a> university. They will be on air to discuss why the essays are considered an important reference to understand and interpret the original intent of the constitution. Watch books that shaped america during the federalist tonight live at 9 00 eastern on cspan, cspan now our free video mobile app, or online at cspan. Org. And scan the qr code to listen to our companion caught podcasts. Announcer cspan is your unfiltered view of government. We are funded by these Television Companies<\/a> and more, including compact. Comcast. You think this is just a Community Center<\/a> . It is way more than that. Comcast is partnering with Many Community<\/a> members to make sure that families have a tool they need to be ready for anythi. Comcast support cspan as a Public Service<\/a> along with these other television providers. Having you a front row seat to democracy. 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