St. Louis and communities across the nation need the Green New Deal for Cities.
As a nurse, I earned around 60% of what my white male counterparts in the same position earned.
The people of Missouri's First District elected a Ferguson-made activist to the House and I have brought the same energy from the frontlines of Ferguson to the halls of Congress.
Every time that I speak on the House Floor or in one of our committee hearings, I begin with the words, 'St. Louis and I.' Every time. That is no accident.
I'm so proud of each and every student who shared their artistic talents with us as part of the 2021 Congressional Art Competition.
It is past time for the federal government to establish an Unhoused Bill of Rights and make the desperately needed investments to guarantee housing, health care, and a robust social safety net for our unhoused neighbors.
Ensuring every child in St. Louis has access to quality early childhood education that will set them up for future success is fundamental to creating a more equitable St. Louis.
The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis's Head Start Program provides child development and comprehensive wellness services in a safe and nurturing environment. The program is a pillar of our community in Missouri's First District.
Radioactive waste in Coldwater Creek has caused a level of devastation that would be unfathomable if it weren't our reality. Our communities have seen hundreds of our neighbors sickened with rare cancers. Animals, birds, and insects have dropped dead in our neighborhoods.
We must work to build a criminal-legal system that is deeply rooted in a love for humanity, which begins with ending the federal death penalty in our country.
The death penalty is an inhumane punishment that disproportionately violates the human rights of Black, brown, indigenous, and other marginalized people.
As lawmakers, we have a duty to protect the people we represent.
Each and every one of my votes here in D.C. has been in the interest of saving lives.
We don't live in a world that nurtures and cares for Black girls like me. And if the world doesn't care about a Black girl like me, then what will happen to our Black babies who grow up to become Black children and Black adults?
We cannot afford to go backwards on our reproductive rights, we must legislate love, we must legislate justice for Black girls and non-binary folks and guarantee reproductive rights for everyone.
Our foreign policy must be rooted in a love for all of humanity.
We must address the real threats of climate change in communities of color and across the Global South, the forced expulsion of Black people in Europe and the Americas, and the socioeconomic demands of young people throughout the world.
My commitment to human rights has always been the core of my work in Congress, as I am legislating for those unhoused, for those protesters often criminalized for their beliefs, and for those patients in need of universal care.
I am humbled to be welcomed onto the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission.
Constituent service is about meeting our neighbors where they are.
As we work to do the most for everyone in Missouri's First District beginning with those who have the least, we have to make our constituent services program as accessible as possible.
Our libraries are pillars in the neighborhood - providing vital services, safe spaces to gather, and connections to essential resources.
Juneteenth has always been a symbol of freedom deferred.
As we officially make Juneteenth a federal holiday, we continue our fight for true liberation.
We need to end voter suppression and protect access to the ballot. We need to teach the truth about white supremacy in our classrooms. And we must prioritize Black liberation in its totality. Only then will we be truly free.
Public safety is a public health issue.
We are safer when our communities are well funded, our people are healthy and housed, and our children have nutritious meals, excellent schools, and green spaces to play in.
Our communities deserve a just response to years of disinvestment in our communities that have led to poor health outcomes and crime.
The People's Response Act will create grant funding for the grassroots and community organizations that are doing the work to address housing, health care, economic injustice, and other inequities in our society.
Guaranteeing the success of our local colleges and universities is vital to the St. Louis' region, our country, and our world.
My hometown has been devastated by a lack of access to trauma prevention and mental health services.
I firmly believe we have the power to transform our communities with intentional and deliberate policies that encourage the overall health and the well-being of those who have the least.
We cannot police our way to public safety.
George Floyd had a rich and loving life that was taken from him.
A descendant of enslaved people, George Floyd was born with generational trauma in his DNA and denied the generational wealth that belonged to his family.
Despite the adversity that George Floyd endured, he was full of life and love for his family, friends, and loved ones. It was in honor of his life that millions took to the streets in struggle for a world where George Floyd would never have been taken from us.
Honoring George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown Jr., and too many other Black people taken from our communities by state violence is at the heart of why we legislate in defense of Black lives - and it's why we lead with an agenda rooted in saving lives.
Our country must transform its power system to be just, equitable, anti-racist, and climate- and disaster-resilient.
For too many families in St. Louis and across the country, the high cost of energy means having to choose between keeping the heat on in the winter or buying groceries. I, myself, have had to make that choice.
The burden of high energy costs is felt disproportionately by low-income and Black and brown families. Every person has the right to these basic services and by making them public goods, we can unburden families and reduce our country's dependence on fossil fuels.
It is our duty as representatives in Congress to do the most for everyone we represent, beginning with those who have the least.
I know what it's like to work 40, 50 or 60 hours a week and still not have enough to live.
As public officials, we have a duty to protect all of our communities and our number one priority must be saving lives.
This stereotype that Black and brown boys and girls are dangerous or threatening has normalized systems of trauma: the cradle to prison pipeline, foster care, youth detention, and being tried and sentenced as adults. We treat trauma with more trauma.
Debt collectors should not be able to call, email, or text you to the point of harassment.
Your medical debt should not be reported on your credit, especially in the wake of a global pandemic.
The CFPB has an obligation to protect our seniors, protect our frontline workers, protect our service workers, and protect our families by developing tools to combat predatory debt collection practices.
St. Louis' locally owned restaurants are part of the heart and soul of our city. These restaurants have made St. Louis a destination for food lovers from all over the world, while also serving as places where our communities can come together and share a meal.
When I worked in childcare, I could not afford to send my own children to the center where I worked.