As I have always said, those closest to the pain should be closest to the power.
Ayanna Pressley
We must acknowledge that issues like systemic racism, economic inequality, and the achievement gap are the result of manmade policies.
You cannot have a government for and by the people if it is not represented by all of the people.
Our immigration system is fundamentally broken, and ICE's role in supporting the existing system - including separating families seeking refuge in the United States and conducting indiscriminate deportation raids in our communities - is creating an atmosphere of toxic fear and mistrust in immigrant communities.
At some point or another, everyone has felt unseen and unheard and marginalized.
I will sit at the table and compromise with anyone in the name of progress, but there are things I'm not willing to compromise and negotiate on, and that is the rights of women, of immigrants, of workers, and of the LGBTQIA community.
Making progress on longstanding challenges requires a different lens and a new approach.
I happen to be black and a woman and unapologetically proud to be both, but that is not the totality of my identity.
My mother did not raise me to ask for permission to lead.
There's something to be said for perseverance.
There's many law changes, policy changes I can point to. But a lot of my work has also been to name the issue that no one else named - to spotlight it, to advocate for it. That's where all advocacy begins. I've asked different questions. I've raised different issues.
From drug companies to health insurers to Wall Street banks, big corporations are spending millions to buy influence in Washington and drown out the voices of regular people.
I am probably an outsider because I challenge conventional narratives about who should have a seat at the table.
We make a mistake when we stereotype neighborhoods as 'bad' and not worth our attention or investment.
Our schools should be rewarding for all students.
We should be uncomfortable with the growing gaps in our society, and we cannot allow ourselves to become desensitized to these injustices.
Let me be abundantly clear: I am black, and I am a woman, and I embrace both of those facts.
In tech communities, we consider disruption the way to lead to innovation.
I think culture is a very challenging thing to reverse.
I would not invest in a Trump hate wall. We don't need to be protected from immigrants that are coming here seeking asylum and refuge.
I am black and a woman and unapologetically proud to be both. But I've never asked anyone to vote for me because I'm black and a woman.
When I hear 'politics,' I hear 'relationships.'
Plans without price tags are simply pandering.
Because boys tend to dominate the narrative for who's at risk, sometimes they dominate the lion's share of services, too.
I know, given my own life challenges, that there are many non-academic barriers that get in the way of the scholastic and life success of our children and that complicate teaching.
When I was ready to buy my first home after years of renting, I immediately zeroed in on Dorchester.
Listening is something as elected officials, as leaders, we forget to do.
My life as an advocate for those most in need is inspired by my mother's example. She believed in the potential inherent in each of us, and that belief is the foundation of my work.
Neighborhood restaurants matter.
If you look at the Affordable Care Act, ultimately that was saved not solely by lawmakers but because of the courage of individuals and families who went to Washington, who organized, who mobilized and said 'We're not turning around.'
I went to a school with the kids of judges and elected officials and architects, civil leaders, and influencers. And I felt very much a minority in every way. But it did expose me to incredible things.
If the power was equitable, then our boards, then our commissions, our contracting, our wealth-building opportunities would all look very different.
An increase in bicycle ridership brings an increased need for measures to ensure the safety of cyclists.
People close to me personally, politically, have expressed frustration that I'm not the political animal that they wish that I were.
I understand and appreciate and respect that any time a barrier is broken or history is made, people want to celebrate it and mark it as progress.
One of my priorities is criminal justice reform, and there is certainly bipartisan appetite for that. I think we need to eliminate the cash bail system. We need to eliminate mandatory minimums. We need sentencing reform. I think we need parole reform as well.
My mother lost her job, so I left school to work full-time to support her.
I knew I would be demonized as entitled and what no woman can ever be: ambitious.
Race is a factor in everything.
At the women's march, we held signs that said, 'Today we march, tomorrow we run.' They didn't believe us, but it's coming to pass.
Thanks to my mother's sacrifices, I was able to attend one of the best schools in Chicago.
I used to turn in, like, 20 money orders to pay my rent - $20 for this one, $30 for this one. I didn't have a checking account.
We desperately need comprehensive immigration reform in this nation, and yes, comprehensive immigration reform proposals are nuanced and complicated, but you know what shouldn't be? Our capacity to see each other's humanity.
In Washington, we need to pass a clean DREAM Act.
We need a permanent solution to TPS recipients and develop a path to citizenship. And, more fundamentally, we need to ensure that our immigration policies treat those coming to this country with the dignity and compassion that should be afforded to all human beings and immediately stop tearing families apart.
My priority will remain supporting those courageous individuals and organizations, among both Israelis and Palestinians, committed to bringing peaceful coexistence to the region.
Not everyone is granted the opportunity that each of us deserves: to fulfill our God-given potential.
If elected, I will work with federal leaders to rehouse the non-immigration enforcement functions of ICE - including human trafficking and money laundering investigations - elsewhere in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security while immediately eliminating funding for enforcement and removal functions.
I never thought I had the monopoly on struggle or suffering.
True enough, Trump is a formidable foe, and systemic inequalities and disparities are worsening under this administration. But they existed long before that. And I want to lead, organize, and legislate to disrupt these disparate outcomes.
