Meet Janelle Bynum, Oregon’s First Black Congress Member

Bynum's win was a bright spot in an otherwise awful election period for Democrats.

Janelle Bynum has become the first Black Congress member from Oregon, a state that was created as a white supremacist haven through a series of laws excluding Black people from settling there from the 1840s through 1857.

According to The Associated Press, Bynum received support from national Democrats. That helped the party flip the seat back to Blue for the first time in 25 years.

“It’s not lost on me that I am one generation removed from segregation. It’s not lost on me that we’re making history,” Bynum said in a Nov. 8 press conference. “And I am proud to be the first, but not the last, Black member of Congress in Oregon.”

Bynum continued, “But it took all of us working together to flip this seat, and we delivered a win for Oregon. We believed in a vision and we didn’t take our feet off the gas until we accomplished our goals.”

Bynum’s opponent, Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer, conceded the race on Nov. 7.

According to The New York Times, Bynum’s win was a bright spot in an otherwise awful week of election results for Democrats.

Bynum won her election in large part reportedly due to her ability to come across to voters in the state as a level-headed leader, but she did not shy away from embracing her identity during her campaign.

According to the Oregon Capital Chronicle, Bynum impressed upon reporters that although the race had concluded, the work was just beginning.

“It’s time that Oregon 5 is represented by a true member of their community, someone who shows up when they’re needed and stands up for them even when the problems are hard,” she told reporters on Nov. 8. “I want every single person in this state to know that their children will be able to build a life here, to afford a house, to get a job that pays well, to build a retirement and to watch their children build their own lives in this state, to know that they are able to give their kids more opportunities than they had themselves.”