Rep. Ayanna Pressley remained defiant Wednesday about the importance of identity politics amid backlash over her call for “black faces” to better embody “a black voice.”
“Let me say this about identity: It matters,” the Massachusetts Democrat said Wednesday. “I am black with a capital ‘B,’ I’m woman with a capital ‘W.’ I’m black and a woman, and unapologetically proud to be both.”
Pressley, a member of the liberal group of freshman Democratic women in the House dubbed “the squad,” suggested to a crowd assembled at a “Busboys and Poets” event in Washington, D.C., that the pushback over her comments had sexist and racist connotations.
“I’m trying to understand why you can be a veteran and say you want to fight for veterans’ rights. You could have battled and overcome substance abuse disorder and say I’m going to fight for the recovery community. You could be a former iron worker and say I’m going to fight for workers’ rights, and no one flinches. But as a woman, you have to apologize for wanting to affirm your rights as a woman. And as a black woman, I’m expected to be an apologist,” she said.
During a Netroots Nation convention panel discussion in Philadelphia over the weekend, Pressley talked about changing the paradigm of conventional politics, urging minority leaders to own their identities, whether they be “black,” “brown,” “Muslim,” or “queer. “We don’t need black faces that don’t want to be a black voice,” she said. “If you’re worried about being marginalized and stereotyped, please don’t even show up because we need you to represent that voice.”
Pressley’s remarks attracted criticism from GOP lawmakers, including House Republican Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming, who described them as “racist.”
On Wednesday, however, Pressley was unrepentant.
“They would have you, and I mean the proverbial ‘they,’ believe that what is fraying at the fabric of America, what is killing us as a country, is identity politics,” she said. “I think what’s ruining our nation is white supremacy and hate.”
Pressley, along with fellow “squad” members Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, has dominated national media attention recently due to tensions with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over her centrist policy and political positions and with President Trump for his “go back” tweets.
