By Ashlee Banks
Special to the AFRO
Attorney and political commentator Angela Rye moderated a panel discussion titled, “Black Women Belong…in the Senate” on Sept. 13 during the Congressional Black Caucus’ (CBC) 53rd Annual Legislative Conference located at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.
The panel included Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks.
Both Alsobrooks and Rochester are vying to become their states’ first Black female U.S. senator. In November, Alsobrooks will face off against former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan for Maryland’s U.S. Senate seat, and Rep. Rochester will go toe to toe with Republican challenger Eric Hansen to represent Delaware in the upper chamber.
Rye told the AFRO she was pleased to be asked to host the panel discussion.
“Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester asked me to moderate this panel and it felt spiritual from the beginning,” said Rye. “When we think about what we’ve done to facilitate opportunities and spaces for people of color, it’s clear that whenever we come and we open up the door other folks come in with us.”
Alsobrooks told the AFRO she was happy to be part of the discussion.
“It was so exciting to be here to speak to the importance of having all of us represented in the Senate,” said Alsobrooks. “I believe that people of every race, of every gender and every background have to be represented in the Senate in order for our policies to be more complete, our country cannot reach its promise.”
Rye, Alsobrooks, Rochester and Butler spent an hour discussing issues plaguing the Black community, which include gun violence and reproductive rights. They also talked about ways in which they would try to resolve these controversial topics.
Alsobrooks told CBC attendees that if elected to the U.S. Senate her first order of business would be to pass legislation in support of reproductive rights.
“The Women’s Health Protection Act which codifies in federal law a woman’s right to choose is going to be the very first piece of legislation I co-sponsor,” said Alsobrooks. “I would like for our daughters to have the opportunity to not have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers.”
Rochester said if she were to become a U.S. senator she would focus on “delivering for citizens in Delaware.”
“I’ve been meeting with small Black business owners, talking to veterans in my state,” said Rochester. “We’ve had roundtables on a whole host of issues. We even developed a plan for agriculture.”
To date, only three Black women have served in the U.S. Senate. Carol Mosley Braun was the very first Black woman to serve in the upper chamber of Congress where she represented Illinois from 1993-1999. Vice President Kamala Harris served in the U.S. Senate beginning in 2017 and then resigned in 2021 to join President Biden in the White House. In 2023, Sen. Butler became the only Black woman currently serving in the U.S. Senate when she replaced the late California Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
Rye told the AFRO that Black women are underrepresented in the U.S. Senate because both Democratic and Republican leaders have “determined that we’re unelectable.”
“We have some work to do to demonstrate that is not the case,” said Rye. “I think what Kamala Harris did, what Carolyn Mosley Braun did, what Lisa Blunt Rochester is doing, and what Angela Alsobrooks is doing, proves that all wrong.”
Alsobrooks told the AFRO that although it is “challenging” for women to be elected to the U.S. Senate, “progress is being made.”
“We’re seeing that in this race. My daughter, who’s 19, is voting for the first time and she’s voting for her mother and voting for Vice President Harris,” said Alsobrooks. “We are moving forward and I’m just excited that this election cycle, God willing, we’re going to see not just one Black woman in the Senate but at least two.”
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