Barbara Lee

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Commemorates 50th Anniversary of Shirley Chisholm’s Presidential Campaign

“Congresswoman Chisholm was a trailblazer, a champion of the poor and marginalized, and a role model to me and so many other women in politics, especially Black women,” said Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-13). “It brings me great joy to celebrate Congresswoman Chisholm’s legacy 50 years after her historic presidential run. It is my hope that my colleagues will join me in celebrating Congresswoman Chisholm’s life and achievements in each part of the country she touched.

Published

2 years ago

February 2, 2022

Oakland Post

File photo of Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm announcing her run for president in 1972. WNYC.org photo.

Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-13) released a statement Tuesday commemorating the 50th anniversary of the late Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm’s presidential campaign. Congresswoman Chisholm was a mentor to Congresswoman Lee and the first Black woman to run for president.

In 1968, Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman elected to Congress, representing the New York’s 12th Congressional District in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. On Jan. 25, 1972, she declared her candidacy for president of the United States — historic in nature as the first woman and African American to seek the nomination for president from one of the two major political parties.

In her closing remarks, she appealed to all those who have felt neglected, ignored, and shunned to join her “in an effort to reshape our society and regain control of our destiny as we go down the Chisholm Trail for 1972.”

Lee plans to celebrate Chisholm’s legacy by encouraging her colleagues to join her in hosting events along the Chisholm Trail — locations across the country that were integral to Chisholm’s life and legacy.

“Congresswoman Chisholm was a trailblazer, a champion of the poor and marginalized, and a role model to me and so many other women in politics, especially Black women,” said Lee. “It brings me great joy to celebrate Congresswoman Chisholm’s legacy 50 years after her historic presidential run. It is my hope that my colleagues will join me in celebrating Congresswoman Chisholm’s life and achievements in each part of the country she touched.

“I was fortunate enough to learn from Congresswoman Chisholm as a mentor. She encouraged me to run for office. I take her lessons with me every day I go to work on behalf of my constituents in California’s 13th Congressional district. She was not only a role model and mentor, but she was also a close friend and confidant.

“Fifty years after her presidential campaign, we are still facing some of the same challenges she sought to defeat. From voting rights, to eradicating poverty and dismantling gender and racial injustice, we must keep Congresswoman Chisholm’s philosophy of being ‘unbought and unbossed’ with us as we fight for a more just future.”

Chisholm was born in 1924 in Brooklyn, New York. She served in Congress from 1968 until retirement in 1983. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015, 10 years after her death in in Florida at age 80.

This report is from Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s press office.

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Barbara Lee

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Issues Statement on Deaths of Humanitarian Aid Volunteers in Gaza 

On April 2, a day after an Israeli airstrike erroneously killed seven employees of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a humanitarian organization delivering aid in the Gaza Strip, a statement was release by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12). “This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.

Published

1 week ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Barbara Lee

By California Black Media

“This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.

The same day, it was confirmed by the organization that the humanitarian aid volunteers were killed in a strike carried out by Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Prior to the incident, members of the team had been travelling in two armored vehicles marked with the WCF logo and they had been coordinating their movements with the IDF. The group had successfully delivered 10 tons of humanitarian food in a deconflicted zone when its convoy was struck.

“This is not only an attack against WCK. This is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the direst situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” said Erin Gore, chief executive officer of World Central Kitchen.

The seven victims included a U.S. citizen as well as others from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Palestine.

Lee has been a vocal advocate for a ceasefire in Gaza and has supported actions by President Joe Biden to airdrop humanitarian aid in the area.

“Far too many civilians have lost their lives as a result of Benjamin Netanyahu’s reprehensible military offensive. The U.S. must join with our allies and demand an immediate, permanent ceasefire – it’s long overdue,” Lee said.

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Rep. Barbara Lee, CBC Members, Raise Concerns Over Layoffs of Black Tech Workersi2s

In 2015, the CBC launched Tech 2020 to ensure that Black Americans would be better represented in the industry by 2020. However, Lee says those tech companies that pledged to be more inclusive are falling short of their promise.

Published

4 months ago

December 26, 2023

Oakland Post

Rep. Barbara Lee

By Post Staff

Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Lee and several other Congressional Black Caucus members have written a letter to Julie Su, the acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor, addressing the disproportionate layoffs of Black tech employees.

“We write to express our concerns with recent reports highlighting the impacts of widespread layoffs within the tech industry and its disproportionate impacts on the African American community and women,” the letter stated.

“Tech companies who previously agreed to address bias and discrimination and create greater opportunities in the workforce are now quietly defunding diversity pledges,” the letter continued.

Lee told the Grio, “We’ve been fighting for justice and for economic parity and security as part of the mission of the CBC,” she said, “and so when we established Tech 2020, it was about equity and inclusion.”

“Now with all the Supreme Court decisions and with all of the backsliding, especially by Republicans, it’s very important that we be very assertive in our fight for equity and justice within the private sector and public sector,” she said.

According to the letter, since the beginning of 2023, more than 240,000 tech workers have been laid off, more than 50% increase from 2022.

Lee found that minorities and women make up most of the tech layoffs that have occurred this year.

“If you don’t have African Americans developing content,” Lee said, “then we’re going to have Black people, Brown people [and] women disproportionately impacted.”

“This country is supposed to be a representative democracy where you include people, and you don’t discriminate against them,” she added. “When you see the disproportionate numbers of people being laid off, then that is a red flag that it could be discrimination occurring against these workers and employees.”

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Congresswoman Lee Releases Statement on Vandalism of Lake Merritt Menorah

Published

4 months ago

December 15, 2023

Oakland Post

Chabad of Oakland’s menorah at Lake Merritt on Dec. 10, before it was vandalized (right) and graffiti left where the menorah stood before it was pulled down. (Photos/Courtesy Chabad of Oakland)

Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-12) released the following statement on the destruction of the large Menorah on display at Lake Merritt in Oakland:

“I’m deeply saddened and disheartened that the Lake Merritt Menorah was destroyed earlier this week. My heart and prayers go out to the Jewish community in Oakland, and I strongly condemn this vile act of antisemitism.”

“Oaklanders salvaged the menorah and gathered together (Wednesday evening) to celebrate its re-lighting, spreading love and support in the way only Oakland does. I’m proud of my constituents. We will not let hate win.”