In the News
Last week everyone on the East Coast was talking about smoke from the Canadian wildfires. It was a reminder of the fact that climate change is already having devasting impacts on communities. This is particularly true for the communities of color and environmental justice communities I represent, who disproportionately suffer the health impacts of environmental pollution and climate change.
As I took my oath of office last month to become the first Black woman to represent Virginia in Congress, I felt the weight of history and my responsibility. I was sworn in during Women’s History Month on March 7, exactly 58 years to the day that voting rights activists faced the brutality of Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama. It reminded me that the past is still present as the country faces familiar fights for justice — including environmental justice.