Opinion

Opinion: In the 116th Congress, Democrats Will Fight for the People

Published

7 years ago

January 12, 2019

Congresswoman Barbara Lee

Last Thursday, we marked a new era when we swore in the most diverse Congress in U.S. history.

With a record number of women and members of color elected to the House of Representatives, we finally have a Congress that looks more like America.

Plus, the largest class of Congressional Black Caucus members ever means we’ve got more congressmembers working to address issues impacting African Americans than ever before.

I’m excited to be part of this sea change – as the only woman of color serving in Democratic leadership. As Co-Chair of the House Democrats’ Steering and Policy Committee, I will help shape our policy agenda and ensure that every perspective is reflected at the leader

ship table – and push for issues of racial justice and poverty to be held as top priorities for our caucus. But I can’t do it alone. And I’m thrilled to have so many new members – of different races, religions, economic back-grounds and regions – who will bring their ideas to Congress. And we need those ideas Last Thursday, we marked a new era when we swore in the most diverse Congress in U.S. history.

With a record number of women and members of color elected to the House of Representatives, we finally have a Congress that looks more like America.

Plus, the largest class of Congressional Black Caucus members ever means we’ve got more congressmembers working to address issues impacting African Americans than ever before.

But I can’t do it alone. And I’m thrilled to have so many new members – of different races, religions, economic backgrounds and regions – who will bring their ideas to Congress.

And we need those ideas now, more than ever.

There’s no question that these are difficult times.

Our government is shut down. Our democracy is under attack – by adversaries abroad and cynical voter suppression tactics here at home. The wealthy and well-connected are more powerful than ever, while financial security for working families in the East Bay and around the country has stagnated and declined.

It will take vision and fearlessness to restore a government for the people.

But House Democrats are ready to tackle these challenges – and fight for progress that every American can be proud of.

As our very first act in the new Congress, House Democrats passed a bipartisan bill to reopen the government and end President Trump’s shutdown.

Most families can’t afford to go weeks on end without a paycheck, nor should they have to. Our message to President Trump is simple: stop the games and open the government back up.

But we won’t stop there. Next, we are getting to work on a bold, progressive agenda for the American people.

We’ve already introduced H.R. 1 – the For People Act – which would protect and expand voting rights, get big money out of politics, and clean up corruption in Washington. I am proud to cosponsor this legislation.

We’re also committed to expanding quality, affordable health care for the American people. For far too many families, access to health care is still determined by the zip code you live in, the contents of your bank

Congresswoman Barbara Lee

Posts by Congresswoman Barbara Lee

Arts and Culture

COMMENTARY: Black Music is the Sound of Black Freedom: Let Us Reclaim Both This Juneteenth

Black Music Month started when Black Music Association members Ed Wright, Kenny Gamble and his wife, journalist and radio host Dyanna Williams were able to persuade President Jimmy Carter to establish the observation on June 7, 1979.

Published

3 days ago

June 9, 2026

Oakland Post

Robert Johnson (1911-1938) is thought of as the godfather of blues music, especially Delta blues. The 29 songs recorded by him during his short life have been of massive inspiration to guitarists and musicians over the last 80 years. Public domain photo.

By Wanda Ravernell

Black Music Month and Juneteenth are inextricably linked – Black music is the sound of our freedom.

From the plaintive moans of the enslaved Africans’ ‘sorrow songs,’ to the fields of Civil War battle where Black soldiers picked up abandoned bugles, to the upright piano played in juke joints on Saturday night and churches come Sunday morning, our ancestors’ innovation in the face of want, fear, degradation, and hopelessness has yielded genres of music imitated ’round the world.

In 2000, Congress made it official. In 2009, Pres. Barack Obama changed the name to African American Music Heritage Month and in 2023, Pres. Joe Biden changed it back to Black Music Month, two years after he declared Juneteenth a national holiday, the result of a movement led by Opal Lee.

Our ancestors battle for freedom over these last 400 years and the music that allowed them expression of their humanity deserved to be honored.

But we may be losing sight of the value of their sacrifices.

‘Sing a Song Full of the Faith That the Dark past Has Taught Us…’

Along with the long-known exploitation of Black musicians whose recordings were stolen by record companies, the commercialization of Juneteenth feels like another kind of theft.

I had never heard of Juneteenth until I moved to the Bay Area from my hometown of Philadelphia. I didn’t know it was one of many freedom festivals celebrated by descendants of enslaved people in the United States.

Emancipation Day was Jan. 1 in Pennsylvania, April 16 in Wash., D.C., May 20 in Florida, and Aug. 8 in Kentucky. But Juneteenth, June 19, has the most renown, known in Texas as the ‘colored peoples’ Fourth of July.’

It was marked by parades, beauty pageants, rodeos, backyard barbecues and church picnics.

Yes, church.

The formerly enslaved began the day praying in thanks for their freedom just as they had prayed for Jubilee – the day of freedom – when they had chains on their feet and hands. They ‘testified’ about their past suffering and how they had managed to overcome.

And they sang.

Although, we will not hold it this year, Omnira Institute’s Juneteenth Ritual of Remembrance recalled this part of Juneteenth with prayers in the languages of the African captives. In the middle of the ceremony, a soloist would lead us in singing “Many Thousand Gone” while we took turns reciting portions of the Emancipation Proclamation, the news of freedom that took more than two years to reach Texas – two months after the Civil War ended.

“Many Thousand Gone” was famously recorded by Black luminary Paul Robeson in 1947:

“No more auction block for me,

No more, no more

No more auction black for me

Many thousand gone.”

Other verses refer to the ‘pint of salt’ and the ‘driver’s lash,’ the realities of enslavement that they had survived.

‘Sing a Song Full of the Hope That the Present has Brought Us’

All of the genres of African American music have at their root songs like that, the essence being, as Stevie Wonder, wrote, “the joy inside our pain.” So Black music is not just music. It is our story, our history, our very strength.

During the Civil Rights Movement, which peaked 100 years after slavery ended, the people testified that it was the freedom songs – based on spirituals – that gave them the heart to march, face attack dogs, fire hoses, beatings, and shootouts with vigilantes.

The music reminded them that power was in the people. That music, our music, can do so again. We don’t have to accept the commodification of the products of our culture.

The power of those songs is showing a resurgence across the South as we battle again for the right to self-determination through the ballot box.

Those songs are the voices of our ancestors, voices forged in their blood, their sweat, their tears, joy and, above all, faith. Those songs, those prayers live in our blood and our very breath.

This Juneteenth, let us reclaim those holy voices expressed in Black music for ourselves. It is our birthright. It can neither be bought nor sold. No more. Never again.

Wanda Ravernell is the executive director of Omnira Institute, sponsor for 18 years of the Juneteenth Ritual of Remembrance and Oakland’s 11^th Annual Black-Eyed Pea Festival, which will take place on Sept. 12.