Two black women make history as first U.S. Senators serving simultaneously
2024 presidential election wasn't totally on the wrong side of history
There was a guy I went to elementary school with who found me on Facebook (when I had an active account). Handsome, intelligent and funny, he was one of those kids you knew would have plenty of dating choices as an adult. But the one thing that always made me cringe about him was how much of a sore loser he was during gym. He would yell, slap the wall, curse under his breath and point his finger all over the place during physical education. He hated losing anything. When you were on his team and got a point, he’d jump in the air, give you a big hug and put his head on your head. He loved winning.
It was not a surprise to me when he got into the top high school in Chicago and was a solid athlete. He also celebrated other people’s wins. When I was surprised to learn that I won the “Most Educated Student” award in eighth grade, he was the first one to give me a high five and congratulate me. Other people smiled and congratulated me, but he acted like my proud grandfather (who claimed to have dust in his eyes on my graduation day when he found out in real time).
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Meanwhile, I’m not usually competitive. I’ve been fairly good about taking it to the chin when I win or lose something — unless I know some b.s. happened and it wasn’t a fair shake. So it is rare that I understand competitive people. I close social media accounts even with a decent following. I’ve never been all that interested in being popular or team sports. I like being liked and appreciate my talents, but the odds of me falling all over the floor about not being chosen for something is slim to none — with one exception. (I’ll get into that later.)
So when I messaged him to say hello after he sent me an invite, I asked him if he was still as competitive about losing. As a kid, you could shrug it off as a tantrum. As a grown man, especially a black man, his reaction was the kind of thing people would too easily call the police on. He laughed, admitted he was a piece of work and said he’s way more easygoing as an adult. I was relieved.
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I thought about him recently, mainly because my reaction to Vice President Kamala Harris was borderline like his. I yelled. I cried. I cursed. I pointed fingers. The message on my website about election results, with a photo of Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris, is prominent. I am still beyond pissed that people voted for racism, sexism, xenophobia, against the U.S. economy, and a whole bunch of other -isms and phobias. But this week, I’ve calmed down enough to really take into account other things that are happening nationwide and worldwide.
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Two black women senators win for first time in history
I’ve been so caught up in that and completely ignored that some other historical moments happened at a federal and local level. Two of those moments: the U.S. will have two Black women serving as senators for the first time in American history, with the winning election results of Lisa Blunt Rochester from Delaware and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland.
Before 2024, there had only ever been three total Black women who served in the Senate: Carol Moseley Braun, Vice President Kamala Harris and Laphonza Butler. There has never been more than one Black woman in the Senate at a time.
This news was huge, considering before the November 2024 election, there had only been 31 Black women serving in Congress — the most ever — 30 in the U.S. House of Representatives and one in the U.S. Senate.
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And I realized that kid in elementary school was handling losses better than me. While he would be angry when his team didn’t win something that he could participate in, he still took time to celebrate wins that he had no control over. I could learn a couple things from him.
Congrats to Lisa Blunt Rochester from Delaware and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland for making American history, Black women’s history and Congressional history.
Did you enjoy this post? You’re also welcome to check out my Substack columns “Black Girl In a Doggone World,” “BlackTechLogy,” “Homegrown Tales,” “I Do See Color,” “One Black Woman’s Vote” and “Window Shopping” too. Subscribe to this newsletter for the weekly posts every Wednesday.
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