This year’s Black History Month ended on a high note Tuesday after Pennsylvania lawmakers elected the state’s first Black female statehouse speaker — bringing the number of Black speakers to a new record in what Democrats call a change in the face of leadership.
State Rep. Joanna McClinton received the gavel after a party line vote, which made her the first woman and the second Black person to lead the Pennsylvania chamber.
But beyond The Keystone State, this means there are now a record-breaking six Black statehouse speakers across the country. That not only includes some of the most important 2024 battlegrounds, it also helps build an important pipeline for candidates for higher office.
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Six Black statehouse speakers
In addition to McClinton, who represents part of Philadelphia, the five other speakers are all Democrats.
They include: Illinois’s Chris Welch; Maine’s Rachel Talbot Ross; Maryland’s Adrienne A. Jones; Michigan’s Joe Tate; and New York’s Carl Heastie.
What are Democrats saying?
“Democrats are fundamentally changing the face of leadership with these victories,” said Christina Polizzi, spokesperson for the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee.
“State legislatures pass the policies that are the most likely to impact people’s day-to-day lives, so it’s crucial that leadership and these legislative bodies reflect the communities that they represent, and the communities that are all too often left behind in policymaking.”
Why is this changing now?
The watershed moment is partially related to how Democrats did at the state level during the 2022 midterms.
Last November, Democrats flipped legislative chambers in key states such Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Michigan, which also gave them “trifecta” or total control in some important swing states ahead of the 2024 presidential contest.
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White House takes note
Democrats are optimistic that those state legislative victories will mean a continued progressive legislative push to offset gridlock in Washington.
The White House hosted five of the Black statehouse speakers this week and touted how the administration and state leaders “are aligned on an ambitious policy agenda.”,” according to a White House statement.
The group of speakers met with with White House senior advisor Julie Chavez Rodriguez on Monday, and discussed issues such as affordable housing, advancing voting rights, gun violence prevention, criminal justice reform and reproductive rights, according a readout of the meeting.
