It’s no secret that politics is a man’s world, but the current 113th Congress holds a record high of women in office. Of the 535 members, 100 are women and 17 are African American. This progress is relevant to women, and especially to black women. Since 1917, when the first woman was elected, only 298 women have served in congress and only 33 of them have been African American. The 113th Congress sets another historical mark, as this is also the most black women who have ever served. BlackEnterprise.com put together a list of the 17 extraordinary women who are taking the limits off. Get to know these black women who are currently in Congress.
Alma Adams, House of Representatives
North Carolina
Democrat
District 12
Alma Adams is exceptionally passionate about women’s and children’s issue. She has sponsored and supported legislation to strengthen domestic violence laws; worked to improve adolescent pregnancy programs; and supported legislation for quality, affordable health care for seniors and children.
Karen Bass, House of Representatives
California
Democrat
District 37
Some of Karen Bass’ priorities include criminal justice, education, environment and energy, and U.S.-Africa policy. She’s been vocal about balanced fiscal policies that preserve the social guarantee to seniors and invest in the future. She also sits on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and she is working to craft criminal justice reforms as a member of the House Judiciary Committee.
Joyce Beatty, House of Representatives
Ohio
Democrat
District 3
A freshman Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Congresswoman Beatty serves on the Financial Services Committee and the Subcommittees on Housing & Insurance and Oversight & Investigations. She was selected to serve as a Democratic Caucus Regional Whip for Region 10, which includes Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky. Prior to Congress, she was first female Democratic House Leader in Ohio’s history and was instrumental in passing legislation that improved the climate for economic development in the state.
Corrine Brown, House of Representatives
Florida
Democrat
District 5
Corrine Brown serves as the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials, and as a senior member on the Committee on Veterans Affairs. Congresswoman Brown has battled the unjust manner in which “Stand Your Ground” laws have been applied in the state of Florida. To alleviate the foreclosure crisis in African American communities, Congresswoman Brown has held numerous housing fairs in various cities across her district, and has worked closely with her colleagues on Capitol Hill to inform people that were victims of faulty foreclosure practices that they may be eligible for compensation.
Donna Christensen, House of Representatives
Virgin Islands
Democrat
*non-voting delegate
Donna Christensen is in her ninth term and was the first ever woman physician to serve in Congress, as well as the first to represent an offshore territory. Delegate Christensen serves on the Committee on Energy and Commerce; its Subcommittees on Health, on Energy and Power and on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade.
Yvette D. Clarke, House of Representatives
New York
Democrat
District 9
Representative Yvette Clarke sits on the Committees of Homeland Security, Ethics, and Small Business. She has worked with non-profit organizations, local community groups and appropriators to generate millions of dollars in federal support for the district. As a result, major institutions received funds, including the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the Brooklyn Public Library, the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, the Prospect Park Alliance and the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT).
Donna Edwards, House of Representatives
Maryland
Democrat
District 4
Congresswoman Donna Edwards is the first African American woman to represent Maryland in Congress. She added Maryland to the Afterschool Suppers Program, ensuring access to nutritional suppers to afterschool and youth development programs in schools located in low-income areas. During the health care debate, Congresswoman Edwards secured a provision that holds insurance companies accountable for unjustifiable rate increases. In the 113th Congress, she serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Science, Space, and Technology Committee.
Marcia Fudge, House of Representatives
Ohio
Democrat
District 11
Congresswoman Marcia Fudge is a member of the House Committee on Agriculture, where she is the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight and Nutrition, and a member of the Subcommittee on Horticulture, Research, Biotechnology & Foreign Agriculture. She also serves on the Education and the Workforce Committee, and is a member of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary & Secondary Education and the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections. She passionately advocates for food stamp recipients, child nutrition, and access to locally grown and healthy foods. She also fights for equitable access to a quality education from preschool through post-secondary programs, fair labor practices, and civil and human rights, among other issues.
Eddie Bernice Johnson, House of Representatives
Texas
Democrat
District 30
Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson won 88% of the vote from the 30th Congressional District of Texas for her 12th term. In December of 2010, Congresswoman Johnson was elected as the first African-American and the first female Ranking Member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. She also serves on the Subcommittee on Research and Science Education, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Aviation Subcommittee, Highways and Transit Subcommittee and Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee.
Robin Kelly, House of Representatives
Illinois
Democrat
District 2
Kelly serves on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and the Economic Growth, Job Creation, and Regulatory Affairs and National Security Subcommittees. She also serves on the Science, Space and Technology Committee and the Research and Technology Subcommittee. She works to promote national safety and expand economic opportunity, sponsoring numerous bills to generate job growth and end senseless gun violence. Kelly’s first legislation, Improving Gun Safety Standards Act, allowed the Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue safety standards for guns and ammunition that will help reduce gun-related deaths.
Barbara Lee, House of Representatives
California
Democrat
District 13
She has aggressively represented the needs of the underserved and vulnerable people in her district and throughout the U.S., vigorously advocating for a wide range of social and economic concerns. Her accomplishments include authoring or co-authoring every major piece of legislation regarding global HIV/AIDS issues since she was elected to Congress. This includes legislation that created the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria, and the position of Special Advisor for Orphans and Vulnerable Children. She has secured millions of dollars for HIV/AIDS prevention, education, treatment and care services in Alameda County.
Sheila Jackson Lee, House of Representatives
Texas
Democrat
District 18
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson is serving her 20th year in Congress and is often referred to as the “Voice of Reason.” During Congresswoman Jackson Lee’s tenure in Congress she has served on various Committees including the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Homeland Security, and Judiciary. She currently serves as the Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection. Congresswoman Jackson Lee is also a senior Member of the House Judiciary Committee where she is a leader on Bullying Prevention.
Gwen Moore, House of Representatives
Wisconsin
Democrat
District 4
Congresswoman Gwen Moore is the first African American elected to Congress from the state of Wisconsin. A champion for women, Congresswoman Moore is the immediate past Democratic Co-Chair of the Congressional Women’s Caucus. In this capacity, she has become a leader on issues like, health insurance reform, women’s health, maternal and infant mortality and domestic violence – leading the charge to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act over the past two Congresses.
Eleanor Holmes Norton, House of Representatives
Washington D.C
Democrat
*non-voting delegate
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, serving her twelfth term as the Congresswoman for the District of Columbia, is the Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. She serves on two committees: the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Congresswoman Norton has brought significant economic development to District of Columbia, creating and preserving jobs in D.C. Holmes Norton brought the U.S. Department of Homeland Security headquarters compound to DC, now under construction, and it is the largest federal construction project in the country.
Terri Sewell, House of Representatives
Alabama
Democrat
District 7
Representative Terri Sewell is the first black woman to ever serve in the Alabama Congressional delegation. She sits on the exclusive House Committee on Financial Services and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, charged with the oversight of our national security. Congresswoman Sewell is an outspoken advocate for jobs creation, workforce development, skills training and for providing resources and economic opportunities for her constituents in the 7th Congressional District.
Maxine Waters, House of Representatives
California
Democrat
District 43
Congresswoman Waters serves as the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Financial Services. An integral member of Congressional Democratic Leadership, Congresswoman Waters serves as a member of the Steering & Policy Committee. She is also a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and member and past chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. Some of her most noted work includes: $10 billion in Section 108 loan guarantees to cities for economic and infrastructure development, housing and small business expansion; $50 million appropriation for “Youth Fair Chance” program which established an intensive job and life skills training program for unskilled, unemployed youth; expanded U.S. debt relief for Africa and other developing nations; and creating a “Center for Women Veterans.”
Frederica S. Wilson, House of Representatives
Florida
Democrat
District 24
Congresswoman Wilson serves on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. In 2013, she received the Broward Black Elected Officials Inaugural Lifetime Achievement Community Service Award. She has personally contributed to the community through her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She introduced the “Rilya Wilson Act,” which requires each state to develop a plan for the prompt reporting of missing foster children, successfully advocated for the Obama Administration to extend Temporary Protected Status to Haitian nationals, hosted a foreclosure prevention and mediation conference to offer assistance to those struggling with mortgages, and requested that the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division investigate the Miami Police Department following the shooting deaths of several black men by police in 2010 and 2011.
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