Representative-elect recalls how lawmakers thought her name was Breonna Taylor after she wore a mask bearing slain women’s name
Congresswoman-elect Cori Bush says her very first interactions with other newly-elected lawmakers in Washington D.C. show the need for greater diversity in Congress.
Bush shared an anecdote with journalist Soledad O’Brien during TheWrap’s Power Women Summit 2020 on Thursday, recalling that her peers at congressional orientation thought her name was Breonna Taylor because her face mask bore the name of the Black woman who was killed by police earlier this year.
Bush believes the incident during orientation — or “Congress School” as she calls it — would not have happened if Congress reflected “every sect of our society” and its members came from varied backgrounds. As O’Brien pointed out, Bush is single mother, registered nurse, ordained pastor, activist and community organizer.
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“I absolutely think more people should have my resume,” said Bush, a Democrat who won her Nov. 3 race to represent Missouri’s first district. “We need regular people who are doing work for people on the ground in communities seated in Congress. We need people from every area, from every sect of our society. We have to be a diverse Congress because our country is diverse. If we don’t have those perspectives — if we don’t have that type of leadership where people feel touched, where people feel outreached — then we’ll continue to have this disconnect that people feel between the government and the people.”
Watch Cori Bush’s full interview above.
Lindsey Ellefson
Media reporter • lindsey.ellefson@thewrap.com • Twitter: @ellefs0n