ayanna pressley
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The Black Maternal Health Momnibus: A Historic Legislative Package Aims to Reduce Maternal Risks
Giving birth has always put women at risk, but for women giving birth in America, it has become a deadly proposition, as the United States has become the most dangerous place to give birth in the developed world. For black women, the risk has been rightfully classified as a crisis, as black expectant mothers are…
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Ayanna Presley and Other Lawmakers and Legal Experts Call for End to Death Penalty in the Wake of Nathaniel Woods Execution
The unfathomably unjust execution of Nathaniel Woods on Friday has sparked widespread outrage and scorn from activists, lawmakers and legal experts and has inspired a renewed sense of urgency in the call to abolish the death penalty. Woods was a criminal but he was not a murderer—a fact not even disputed by prosecutors or the…
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Watch: Rep. Ayanna Pressley Delivers Rousing Speech in Defense of Reproductive Rights as Roe v. Wade Faces Its Biggest Challenge Yet
Standing outside the Supreme Court Monday morning, Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley drew attention to her outfit, a long-sleeved leather dress: “I don’t know if y’all can see but I’m rocking my ‘resistance leather,’” Pressley quipped in front of a gathering of protesters. “I came dressed for battle because we’re still in one.” The rally was…
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Ayanna Pressley's Pitch for Elizabeth Warren
ORANGEBURG, S.C.—It’s hard to ascertain how much endorsements help a political candidate and the data that measures it often show it has little effect on voters—especially with independents. The best way to rally support behind candidates is usually local, grassroots politicking and years of familiarity. U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley’s support of presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren…
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Elizabeth Warren Apologizes After 6 Women of Color Quit Her Campaign
Hours after revelations that a half-dozen women of color had fled Elizabeth Warren’s campaign in Nevada—and just over two weeks before that state’s critical Democratic caucuses—the senator from Massachusetts issued an apology on Thursday night, acknowledging the staffers’ “bad experience.” Speaking to Politico, three of the six women described “a toxic work environment in which…
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Wave of House Democrats Announce Boycott of Trump’s ‘Sham State of the Union’ Address
Eight house Democrats announced Tuesday that they will not attend President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, citing a lack of trust in the president and the Senate trial that is expected to acquit him of all impeachment charges on Wednesday. The first five Democrats to announce their boycott were Reps. Al Green (Texas),…
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In Her First House Appearance Since Her Radical Reveal, Ayanna Pressley Was Bald and Beautiful
In the midst of an impeachment trial that is fraught with obfuscation, transparency in politics is a rare and beautiful thing. So, too, is the bravery it took for Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) to trust The Root with the recent disclosure that she has alopecia and had been wearing wigs to hide her bald head…
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‘Our Struggles Matter’: Ayanna Pressley Lends Her Voice to a Collection of Essays by Sexual Assault Survivors
“As a survivor, I struggled for years to tell my own story,” writes Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), “and I know how it feels to be a survivor in a country where believing and supporting survivors has become a partisan issue, where survivors are made to feel marginalized and ostracized. I tell my story both because…
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Betsy DeVos Compares Abortion to Slavery, Ayanna Pressley Invites Her to ‘Say It to My Face’
Secretary of Education and Cruella DeVille stunt double Betsy DeVos has shown us time and time again that she isn’t the brightest crayon in the box. We’ve seen her struggle to answer the most basic questions about education and even declared that she has not “intentionally visited schools that are underperforming,” after making it pretty…