Washington, D.C. (February 3, 2020)– Today, the Working Families Party announced Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D – Mass.) will deliver WFP’s response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union
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Address on Tuesday evening. In 2018, Pressley became the first woman of color elected to
C
ongress from Massachusetts. During her first year in Congress, Pressley led on a number of progressive priorities, including introducing a House resolution called the “People’s Justice Guarantee,” which called for the abolishment of cash bail and the death penalty, among other transformational reforms to the criminal legal system.
The speech can be viewed on the WFP’s Facebook page.
“Ayanna Pressley has fearlessly held this administration accountable from the moment she touched down in Washington, all while fighting to reimagine our country so it works for the many instead of the privileged and well-connected few,” said Working Families Party National Director Maurice Mitchell. “On Tuesday night, she’ll put forth a vision for a post-Trump America that allows our nation to live up to its promise of freedom and equality under the law for every person.”
In 2018, the Working Families Party endorsed Pressley’s historic run for the Massachusetts’ 7th Congressional District. Both Pressley and the Working Families Party have both endorsed Senator Elizabeth Warren for the Democratic presidential nomination, citing her agenda of bold, structural change.
“I’m honored to accept the invitation from the Working Families Party to deliver their State of the Union response,” said Pressley. “We find ourselves in unprecedented times. Every day, the occupant of the White House is advancing cruel, bigoted policies that are creating pain and trauma in our communities. Our response on Tuesday will lift up the strength of our diverse grassroots movement that will help evict the occupant of the White House, elect dynamic leaders up and down the ballot this fall, and will advance a bold, progressive policy agenda that returns power to the people and ensures equity and justice for all of our communities.”
Pressley’s remarks will follow the Democratic Party responses from Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Texas Rep. Veronica Escobar. This will be the Working Families Party’s third response to the State of the Union Address. Former Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.) delivered the response in 2018, and Wisconsin Lt. Gov. and WFP national committee member Mandela Barnes in 2019.
Pressley was born in Cincinnati but grew up in Chicago. She got her start in politics working for former United States Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II. She also served as a senior aide to former Massachusetts Senator John Kerry. In 2009, Pressley was elected to Boston City Council, making her the first woman of color to serve on that body in its 100-year history. While on the council, Pressley worked in close partnership with community on issues of consequence, including the groundbreaking creation of the Committee on Health, Women, Families, and Communities, and the development of a comprehensive, culturally competent, medically accurate, and age-appropriate sexual education and health curriculum, which was successfully adopted as a permanent part of the Boston Public Schools’ wellness policy.
The WFP is a grassroots political party fighting for an America for the many, not the few. Last year the WFP drove a progressive wave in local elections across America. The WFP helped elect longtime tenants organizer and progressive champion Jumaane Williams as Public Advocate in
New York City
, swelled the ranks of
Chicago
city council progressive caucus, put public education champions on the school board in
Milwaukee
, helped insurgent activist Candi CdeBaca oust a longtime incumbent on the
Denver City Council
, and elected other council members from
Morgantown
, W.Va., to Phoenix. In 2018 it helped to drive the progressive wave up and down the ballot, flipping state senate chambers in
New York
and Colorado, and defeating Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wis.).