Because boys tend to dominate the narrative for who's at risk, sometimes they dominate the lion's share of services, too.
— Ayanna Pressley
I think people want to live in a city that is welcoming and inclusive. I don't think people want to feel that they can only go into a place with a rainbow flag in front.
I understand and appreciate and respect that any time a barrier is broken or history is made, people want to celebrate it and mark it as progress.
Race is a factor in everything.
Let me be abundantly clear: I am black, and I am a woman, and I embrace both of those facts.
If elected, I will work with federal leaders to rehouse the non-immigration enforcement functions of ICE - including human trafficking and money laundering investigations - elsewhere in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security while immediately eliminating funding for enforcement and removal functions.
Not everyone is granted the opportunity that each of us deserves: to fulfill our God-given potential.
My priority will remain supporting those courageous individuals and organizations, among both Israelis and Palestinians, committed to bringing peaceful coexistence to the region.
In Washington, we need to pass a clean DREAM Act.
I happen to be black and a woman and unapologetically proud to be both, but that is not the totality of my identity.
Since being elected to the City Council, I have been unwavering in my commitment to address issues uniquely impacting women and girls and advance policies that stabilize and strengthen our communities.
People entrust me with the responsibility of actualizing our shared values and, that said, I'm not in the business of going to try to convert people and getting their buy-in. I just do the work.
I never thought I had the monopoly on struggle or suffering.
You cannot have a government for and by the people if it is not represented by all of the people.
We must acknowledge that issues like systemic racism, economic inequality, and the achievement gap are the result of manmade policies.
From drug companies to health insurers to Wall Street banks, big corporations are spending millions to buy influence in Washington and drown out the voices of regular people.
My life as an advocate for those most in need is inspired by my mother's example. She believed in the potential inherent in each of us, and that belief is the foundation of my work.
Plans without price tags are simply pandering.
We desperately need comprehensive immigration reform in this nation, and yes, comprehensive immigration reform proposals are nuanced and complicated, but you know what shouldn't be? Our capacity to see each other's humanity.
I'm very confident about my ability to earn votes in every neighborhood.
True enough, Trump is a formidable foe, and systemic inequalities and disparities are worsening under this administration. But they existed long before that. And I want to lead, organize, and legislate to disrupt these disparate outcomes.
I knew I would be demonized as entitled and what no woman can ever be: ambitious.
I will sit at the table and compromise with anyone in the name of progress, but there are things I'm not willing to compromise and negotiate on, and that is the rights of women, of immigrants, of workers, and of the LGBTQIA community.
Our immigration system is fundamentally broken, and ICE's role in supporting the existing system - including separating families seeking refuge in the United States and conducting indiscriminate deportation raids in our communities - is creating an atmosphere of toxic fear and mistrust in immigrant communities.
Making progress on longstanding challenges requires a different lens and a new approach.
There's many law changes, policy changes I can point to. But a lot of my work has also been to name the issue that no one else named - to spotlight it, to advocate for it. That's where all advocacy begins. I've asked different questions. I've raised different issues.
We need a permanent solution to TPS recipients and develop a path to citizenship. And, more fundamentally, we need to ensure that our immigration policies treat those coming to this country with the dignity and compassion that should be afforded to all human beings and immediately stop tearing families apart.
I used to turn in, like, 20 money orders to pay my rent - $20 for this one, $30 for this one. I didn't have a checking account.
