Shomari Figures, Terri Sewell , congressional Black Caucus

Congressional Black Caucus Sets New Membership Record, Swears In New Members

The Congressional Black Caucus held a swearing-in ceremony ahead of the members taking their oaths of office.


On Jan. 3, the Congressional Black Caucus held a swearing-in ceremony ahead of the members taking their oaths of office; the ceremony featured 62 members, which represented the most in the organization’s history.

According to the Missouri Independent, the historic class includes Democrats Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), who are the first Black women senators to serve simultaneously.

It also includes Alabama Reps. Terri Sewell and Shomari Figures, who are the first Black U.S. House members from Alabama to ever serve at the same time.

Sewell, who is also the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s board of directors, issued a statement on behalf of the CBC to the outlet, indicating their desire to stand up for the interests of Black Americans.

“Today, we renew our pledge to fight racism where it exists, to weed out inequities in health care, the criminal justice system, education, voter access, and so many rights and benefits that are part and parcel of what it means to be Americans,” Sewell said. “We, in the Congressional Black Caucus, stand ready for the task ahead.”

Rep. Glenn Ivey, a member of the CBC and a Democrat from Maryland, indicated that he is concerned about President-elect Trump potentially using the Justice Department to punish his political opponents, a manner inconsistent with its intended function.

“That’s not the role of the Department of Justice,” Ivey said. “Protecting the rule of law is what we’ve got to make sure happens now and going forward.”

He continued, “I can remember back a few years ago where the Republicans controlled the White House, the Senate and the House. A few years after that, [then U.S. Sen.] Barack Obama got elected president, and we took back control of the Senate and the House. So a setback is a set up for a comeback. We’re ready to come back.”

Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, told the Missouri Independent that the potential of Trump to use his office for unsavory purposes does not stop the organization from pursuing its own goals.

“They should say to the president, ‘if you want to meet us halfway on important priorities like voting rights, elimination of poverty, we will not say no,’” Morial said. “But if your plan is to administer solely to your MAGA base, we will lead the resistance.”

Figures, meanwhile, reflected on what it means to him personally to receive the support of the people of Alabama and others who came to visit him on his first day in office.

“It’s humbling and its also I think reassuring of the work that has to be done and reassuring of the interests that are in the state of Alabama when you see people coming from a variety of sectors, a variety of industries, a variety of backgrounds all coming to wish you well and to get to know you,” Figures told the Alabama Daily News.

He concluded, “Stepping out there on that floor, it’s a moment where you get an opportunity to sort of take a few minutes to sit back and think about all that it took for you to get here. All the people that made the sacrifices for you both presently in your life as well as those who crossed those bridges before you historically.”

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