The State of the Union is strong, but we still have so much left to go.
It was an honor to join President Biden and the joint session for the State of the Union on Tuesday.
It was also a privilege and pleasure to invite my dear friend, the honorable Bishop Sylveta A. Hamilton Gonzales, to be my guest. She is a lifelong educator, a proud immigrant, and a woman dedicated to her community – and I was honored to have her join me this evening.
POTUS reminded the far-right Republicans making fools of themselves to “check out” the results of Democrats’ past two years in power.
On that last note, I want to again congratulate my friend Vice President Kamala Harris on her work to support small business owners. Over 10 million new applications in two years is the result of extraordinary work.
We still have so much to do, though. We’re here to finish the job.
We must ban assault weapons. NOW. Too many lives have been lost by these weapons of war that don’t need to be on American streets – ever.
We need to hold police accountable when their actions betray community trust and terrorize Black and Brown communities. We are FAR beyond the need for reform.
We also need to continue supporting labor and address the income inequality that plagues our country. We need to make the wealthy pay their fair share and we need to defend Social Security and Medicare, no matter who wants to “sunset” these programs to give more tax breaks to the wealthy.
But above all else, I’m so hopeful about all the progress we’ve made and all that is yet to come. My good friend Hakeem Jeffries is the first Black leader in the House. Tyre Nichols’ parents were invited by the President. We have the largest Congressional Black Caucus in history in the 118th Congress.
Progress is happening and I’m so excited to have a front-row seat to help uplift the next generation of Black excellence as the CBC’s First Vice Chair, and I also look forward to working with President Biden as we charge forward with the progress we need to make.
Yvette Clarke is the ONLY Black woman representing New York in Washington. She has a known track record of bringing together moderates and progressives to pass progressive legislation to help communities of color, low-income families, immigrants, and more. If you'd like only the most important updates, you can opt for fewer emails here, but if you don't want to keep Yvette proudly representing Brooklyn, you can unsubscribe.
