Government

Rep. Underwood to Black Nurses: Go into Politics

WASHINGTON INFORMER — Freshman Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) told a receptive audience of the nation’s leading African-American nursing association that they should seriously consider entering the political realm.

Published

6 years ago

February 20, 2019

Oakland Post

By James Wright

Freshman Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) told a receptive audience of the nation’s leading African-American nursing association that they should seriously consider entering the political realm.

“Please run for office,” Underwood said to the attendees of the 31st National Black Nurses Association Day on Capitol Hill at the Washington Court Hotel in Northwest on Feb. 7. “Our country needs you.”

Underwood, a registered nurse, spoke to the 90 participants of the one-day event during its morning session. The representative spoke strongly about the need for African American nurses voices to be heard in the country’s political dialogue.

“Capitol Hill needs to hear from you,” Underwood said. “We as nurses are impacted by Hill actions and we are not a part of the conversation. Throughout the history of the Congress, there have been less than 10 nurses to serve and we need more. We have to be at the table.”

The National Black Nurses Association (NBNA), founded in 1971, serves as the representative for 200,000 African-American nursing professionals, students and retirees from the U.S., the Caribbean and Africa with 90 chartered chapters in 35 states. Blacks make up 9.9 percent of all nurses, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Working under the theme “Addressing the Epidemic of Health Inequity: The NBNA Call for Action,” the participants listened to speakers on health and public policy issues in the morning and spent part of the afternoon on Capitol Hill meeting with representatives and senators and their legislative staffs.

During the visits, the participants urged their lawmakers to support their areas of concern: passing the Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2018 sponsored by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) that would correct deficiencies in data collecting and reporting, pushing for health care worker diversity and support for mental health initiatives; working to eliminate maternal mortality; educating and advocating on climate change and environmental justice; fighting the epidemic of gun violence and combating the opioid crisis.

While most met with staff members, some managed to get face time with their representatives on the Hill. Participants from New York talked with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D) and those from Houston had a dialogue with Rep. Al Green (D-Texas).

Afterward, the participants spoke of their experiences with their lawmakers.

Underwood, the youngest African-American woman elected to the Congress, said that she and Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) are the only Black nurses on the Hill.

“That’s not enough,” she said.

Underwood encouraged the event participants to know their local public officials and seek appointment to county and state nursing boards. She also said the participants should take a “leap of faith” and intern for a member of Congress.

“I know that will be a sacrifice leaving where you live and coming here to Washington,” Underwood said. “However, you will learn a lot about the legislative process and be able to be an effective advocate for nursing and your community.”

Dr. Greg Margolis, director of health policy fellowships and leadership programs for the National Academy of Medicine in the District, spoke about the Robert W. Johnson Health Policy Fellows program and noted that Dr. Sheldon Fields, a founding president of the greater New York City chapter of the NBNA, made history as the first male registered nurse to participate in the program.

“Resources do not go to the just, but to the organized,” Margolis said. “Advocacy is not an event it is a campaign. If you want things to get done on your behalf, it’s not just a once-a-year event visiting the Hill. … It should be viewed as part of a long-term campaign.”

This article originally appeared in the Washington Informer.

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Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

17 hours ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

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The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.