Ayanna Pressley

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Ayanna Pressley (2019)

Ayanna Pressley Soyini (born on 3. February 1974 in Cincinnati , Ohio ) is an American politician of the Democratic Party . The former councilor of Boston company since January 2019, the United States House of Representatives for the 7th congressional district of the state of Massachusetts to.

Family, education and work

Ayanna Pressley's parents are from Ohio and were married in Cincinnati. Her maternal grandfather was a pastor in a Baptist church in Chicago . Ayanna Pressley grew up as an only child in Lincoln Park on the North Side of Chicago. Her heroin-addicted father, Martin Pressley, spent much of her childhood in prison, so her mother, Sandra, a social worker for the National Urban League , raised her alone. The parents divorced; later the father became a college lecturer, writer, and UNCF official . The mother later moved to Brooklyn , New York City . Pressley was a child of sexual abuse; she was raped in college. At the age of ten, she provided first campaign assistance for the African-American candidate for mayoral Harold Washington .

Despite her mother's precarious financial situation, Pressley attended a private school, the Francis W. Parker School in Chicago, where she was active on the student council and as a cheerleader . When she left school as the second best of her year, she selected it as the likely future mayor of Chicago. From 1992 she attended the College of General Studies at Boston University , but left without a degree in 1994 when her mother became unemployed to help her make a living. She worked first for a Boston hotel and then as a political assistant for Joseph Patrick Kennedy II , who was a member of the US House of Representatives, and particularly helped those in need with social security applications. After organizing the volunteers in Senator John Kerry's election campaign before the 1996 election , he hired her permanently in Washington, DC , where she was political director until May 2009 and served as a liaison to other political officials and elected officials. She stated that she was always the youngest person in these positions and one of the few women and persons of color .

Ayanna Pressley married Conan Harris in 2014. They live with their stepdaughter in the Ashmont-Adams neighborhood of the Dorchester borough of Boston.

Political career

Pressley was elected to Boston City Council on November 3, 2009 , winning one of four city-wide seats with just under 15 percent of the vote. She won the Democratic primary election for the city council in September. It won the subsequent elections, held every two years from 2011 to 2017, with a significantly improved share of the vote.

She was the first African American woman on Boston City Council. As such, she caused unrest in the African American community when, in December 2010, she voted for the removal of African American city council member Chuck Turner, who had described the criminal charges against himself as being racially motivated. Projects like improving sex education in schools and increasing the availability of condoms also caused a stir when she spoke about the increased rates of sexually transmitted diseases among African American women. Against the advice of political observers, in her election campaigns she addressed her commitment to young women and - while describing her own experiences - against sexual violence . Other topics of her work were the work for women, jobs and against street violence.

Pressley announced in early February 2018 that it was running for the Democratic nomination in Massachusetts' 7th Congressional constituency in the 2018 election, which will encompass most of the Boston area. She challenged the popular and scandal-free mandate holder for ten legislatures, Mike Capuano . On September 4, 2018, Pressley won the intra-party primary with 59 percent of the vote. During the election campaign, she used the slogan “Change Can't Wait” to attract votes, especially young and non-whites, as a candidate for a grassroots movement , declined donations from political action committees and saw herself as better suited to her life story for this constituency, the only one in the state where minorities are in majority . She was supported by Secretary of State Maura Healey and the editors of the Boston Globe and Boston Herald , while Capuano had former Governor Deval Patrick on his side, more fundraising, and better polling results. Their victory was described as a shock to the Democratic Party and compared to that of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , who defeated a long-time mandate holder of its own party in a similarly structured district in New York . In general, more women and people of color ran in the mid-term election in November 2018 than ever before.

Since no Republican ran against her, she was easily elected to Congress in the November 2018 main election. Barack Obama had supported them just as much as Ocasio-Cortez. Since January 3, 2019, she has been the first African American woman to sit in the House of Representatives for Massachusetts.

Positions and Style

In the 2018 congressional election campaign, Pressley campaigned for action against gun violence, racism, domestic violence and economic inequality.

Pressley's style is described as unusual in political life. At an event about street violence, she let those affected have their say for hours before speaking. Their approach, which is characterized by cooperation and great ideas, also met with criticism because it lacked the implementation of concrete solutions. She is considered a strong speaker and pushed through an increase in the number of liquor licenses, which improved economic opportunities in neglected parts of the city. The criticism, which was mainly heard from the establishment, that Pressley was more interested in effective appearances than in detailed work, responded in particular by voices from minority groups, lending a voice to issues that had previously not been heard.

Pressley works closely with three other progressive Women of Color (Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar ), who have sat in Congress since 2019 and are referred to by some media as " The Squad ". Without naming names, President Trump said on Twitter in July 2019 that “'progressive' female congressmen” had come from countries whose governments were a “total disaster” and should return there instead of criticizing the US. Although all but Omar were born in the United States and Pressley's parents have no migration history either - their ancestors allegedly lived in the United States for over 200 years, while Trump himself is an immigrant child - this was seen by the media and Pressley himself as an attack on the Group of four interpreted. Pressley described Trump's statements as racist.

Web links

Commons : Ayanna Pressley  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Laurie D. Willis: Obituaries: Sandra Pressley, 63; was mother of city councilor. In: The Boston Globe , July 14, 2011
  2. ^ A b c Katharine Q. Seelye, Astead W. Herndon: Ayanna Pressley Seeks Her Political Moment in a Changing Boston. In: The New York Times , September 1, 2018.
  3. ↑ Cynthia K. Buccini: Door to Door, Block by Block. In: Boston University , August 26, 2009
  4. ↑ a b c Bianca Vázquez Toness: Pressley Is A Compelling, But Vulnerable Councilor. In: WBUR.org , February 15, 2011
  5. ^ A b c Ayanna Pressley, first black woman elected to Boston City Council overcomes life full of obstacles. In: The Grio , January 30, 2012.
  6. ↑ Kate Prengel: Conan Harris, Ayanna Pressley's Husband: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know. In: Heavy.com , September 5, 2018.
  7. ↑ a b Pressley, Ayanna S. In: OurCampaigns.com.
  8. ↑ Steve Koczela: Though The 7th District Is Minority-Majority, Most Of Its Voters Are White. In: WBUR , February 9, 2018.
  9. ^ A b Anthony Brooks, Benjamin Swasey: A Stunner: Pressley Topples Capuano In Nationally Watched 7th District Race. In: WBUR , September 4, 2018
  10. ↑ Ben Jacobs, Sarah Betancourt: Ayanna Pressley ousts 10-term Massachusetts Democrat in latest primary upset. In: The Guardian , September 5, 2018
  11. ^ William J. Kole: Ayanna Pressley Officially Massachusetts' 1st Black Congresswoman. In: CBS News , November 6, 2018.
  12. ↑ Peter Bolton: Trump's Own Background Reveals the True Motivation Behind Racist Tweets - Pure White Supremacy In: Counter Punch , July 19, 2019.
  13. ↑ Martin Pengelly: 'Go back home': Trump aims racist attack at Ocasio-Cortez and other congress women. In: The Guardian , July 15, 2019.
personal data
SURNAME Pressley, Ayanna
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pressley, Ayanna Soyini
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician (Democratic Party)
DATE OF BIRTH 3rd February 1974
PLACE OF BIRTH Cincinnati , Ohio