The Dithering of a District Diva

Last month, I introduced many of you  to “Happy Black Girl Day!”, a holiday created by Brooklyn diva extraordinaire and fellow blogger Sister Toldja.  This once-a-month holiday allows us to take a break from the constant media assault on Black women and celebrate the sisterhood with showers of positivity.  The way I choose to celebrate HBGD is by highlighting an extraordinary and prototypical Black woman.

April’s Prototype: Congresswoman Donna Edwards, Representative for Maryland’s 4th District

When I met Congresswoman Edwards at a Christmas party in 2009, I was immediately struck by her optimism in the face of such partisanship and political ugliness surrounding all things Obama, and to a lesser degree, all things Democratic. With passion radiating from her being, we talked of the stimulus package, the bailouts, and of course, the hottest topic of the year, health care reform.  At a time when the possibility of real reform seemed fleeting, she was convincingly confident that Obama would sign comprehensive reform into law soon: “These are all things that need to be done for the American people, and we’re going to get it done.” And just a few short months later, they did.

It is obvious that Edwards loves what she does. So when she graciously granted me an interview recently, the first question I asked her was: When did you fall in love with politics?

“A long time ago,” she laughed.

I was in grade school, actually. And in  high school, while everyone else was outside,  I was watching the Watergate hearings. I was watching [Black attorney and Texas Congresswoman] Barbara Jordan [giving an influential speech to the House Judiciary Committee in support of impeaching Richard Nixon]. She was an unbelievably good lawyer, she asked really pointed questions and was a great voice and a tremendous intellect. Growing up around strong Black women, it was just wonderful to see one on t.v. as another role model. She was my hero, and I wanted to be just like her.

And Edwards is well on her way.  Just like Jordan was the first Black woman from a Southern state to serve in the House of Representatives, Edwards –also an attorney– is the first Black woman to represent the state of Maryland in Congress.

But Edwards has historically been known to burst through the glass ceiling and defy the odds.  She graduated from Wake Forest University as one of only six Black women in her class. Coming to age in a racially tumultuous climate, she remembered getting the strength to achieve her dreams from her parents:

Coming through high school and law school and being in the workplace as the only African American woman, or one of a few, many people’s eyes are always on you. The workplace is hard, but as my parents always said, don’t give them anything to look at.

Recognizing that we’ve still got a long ways to go when it comes to racial and gender equality, Edwards described her coping mechanisms for dealing with what she called the “silliness” of prejudice and discrimination in the work place and offered her advice to young people preparing to go through the same:

When you work hard and you enjoy what you’re doing, you can in some ways put up blinders to the silliness. I have really tremendous colleagues, my family, and my new friends here in Congress.  And there are an awful lot of validators in the workplace. You may not find your mentor in your actual physical place of work, but when and where you can find them, they will provide you with a lot of support.

She also praised her staff and her constituents for their unwavering support:

I am also surrounded by a really smart, talented young staff who have maybe as much energy as I do, even though I am twice their age.  And we have one of the most diverse offices on the Hill. And that is a reflection of our congressional district.

[…]

I feel fortunate to represent people in the 4th Congressional District. We have some of the smartest people around in our congressional district. I feel very informed by them. I am emboldened and empowered by them.

To be “emboldened and empowered;” Edwards has unapologetically sought out to experience these twin-essentials  her entire life.

I’ve come to be a believer in living and pursuing your passion.  I’ve always worked at jobs that I really liked that were very different…I just knew I wanted to earn a living waking up everyday and feeling good about myself at the end of the day. And I knew I wanted to change the world.

She has already done just that.

As the co-Founder and executive director of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, Edwards was instrumental in passing the Violence Against Women Act–which provides funding for the aggressive defense of women who are violently victimized, allows for civil remedies for victims, and increases pre-trial detention of accused offenders.  She also aggressively fought for campaign finance reform and is still fighting for a Constitutional Amendment that would limit the impact that corporations can have on our federal elections.

Always a woman of the people, she began a grassroots campaign that brought $200 million into her Maryland community and provided jobs for the people while protecting wildlife and natural resources.  As the executive Director of the Arca Foundation, she led efforts to increase the quality of life of working people through her fight for a “living wage,”  and for protective measures for social security.  As a champion of justice, she sought to end capital punishment and to support international human rights. She was even arrested for her non-violent protest at the Sudanese Embassy to draw attention to the genocide in Darfur.

And she is not done, yet:

There is always something else to do. I hope that at the end of the day, when all is said and done, people can say that Donna did something to improve someone else’s life…We have introduced legislation that is about people’s lives.  People who wait tables and work for tips [through her “living  wage” campaign], legislation that helps make college more affordable for people who want to go, this historic health care legislation [that bans insurance companies from dropping or refusing coverage due to pre-existing conditions, and bans price-gouging premiums], and legislation to preserve our environment for future generations.

I just want someone else to know that [my work] wasn’t about me. It wasn’t selfish. I sought to improve people’s quality of life.  If everything else is forgotten, I hope that will remain.

What we can learn from the Congresswoman: Chase your dreams without apology and live a life of honor; the greatest legacy is to leave the world better than before you came. Stay on fire!

Glass-ceiling breaker, shero, mother, fighter, and courageous woman putting feet to her words–all while rocking a teeny-weenie-afro! (You know I love that!) Donna Edwards is: The Prototype.

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