- 19 hours ago
The history-making first-term Senator talks legacy, purpose and building generational power in politics.
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00:00So I want women to continue to be active and engaged, not just in national politics,
00:05but go out and run for school board. I want you running like crazy for county councils and city
00:10councils and mayors and other positions. Our mere presence in these rooms changes the discussion.
00:17You've heard it from my mouth to the ears of all of your listeners,
00:20your representation matters and Black women are winning big.
00:30As SN celebrates its 55th anniversary, we continue to spotlight the impactful contributions
00:36of Black women across sectors. Today, we turn our attention to those shaping the future of
00:43American politics. Amongst these trailblazers is Senator Angela Alsobrooks, who made history in
00:502024 when she was elected as Maryland's first Black U.S. Senator. Her career in public service
00:58includes breaking barriers as Prince George's County's first woman to be the state's attorney
01:04and later as the first Black woman to serve and be elected as the county executive in Maryland's
01:11history. Now serving her first term in the U.S. Senate, she continues to advocate for her
01:16constituents, but now on a national stage. Senator Alsobrooks, thank you so much for joining us today.
01:22Oh, thank you so much for having me. And you know what? And happy birthday to Essence Magazine. As you
01:29said, 55 years. I think about how special that is, is that I have been able to grow up with Essence
01:36Magazine, having been, you know, in existence my entire life. And I've just really benefited so much
01:42from the coverage over the years. And so thank you so much for interviewing me today.
01:46Yeah, it's a pleasure to really be here with you. And, you know, we thought it was really
01:51important to not only, you know, to spotlight women across sectors. And we know that politics
01:57is a huge part of that. And when we see Black women, particularly in the political realm and
02:03how your voices have, you know, really helped shape a generation of how people show up to
02:10the polls and beyond. And so we talked a little bit about the fact that you have broken barriers
02:17throughout your career, culminating in your historic election to the U.S. Senate. When you reflect
02:23on that moment, on that journey, what does this chapter represent for you personally and for
02:31the communities that you serve? Well, you know, it has been such a privilege and a real blessing to
02:40have been in service now for this is my 28th year. I started in 1997 as the first full-time domestic
02:49violence prosecutor to work in the county where I have grown up. And that beginning in service really
02:57has grown into a career that has allowed me in so many ways to care for the very people who made these
03:04opportunities possible. And now with my recent election in the Senate gives me the great opportunity
03:10not only to serve there in that county, but to represent my state. And I really believe that
03:16there is so much significance in having the opportunity to be a face that the whole nation
03:21can look at, that people from every walk of life and most especially Black women now know as a matter
03:28of fact that this is possible. It's not just, you know, that maybe it is. I think the election and this
03:35election represented only the third time in our country's history that we have elected a Black woman
03:41to the United States Senate, but it did cement, I hope, in the minds of young women and middle-aged
03:48and older women alike that it is in fact possible to be able to be included in ways that will help,
03:56I think, benefit our communities for generations to come.
04:00Yeah, thank you for that. And when it comes to that representation in media, what role would you
04:07say Black media has played in being able to amplify, you know, the journeys of women like yourself in
04:13politics? And to your point about Essence being, you know, around through every step of that journey,
04:20how has that actually played into amplifying the work that you've done over these last, you know,
04:25almost three decades now?
04:28Well, you know what? I'm going to give you a very specific example. Essence Magazine, I read it in 2009
04:34when it highlighted a woman whose name was Kamala Harris or his name is Kamala Harris and talked about
04:41this book that she had written called Smart on Crime. It covered her, it talked about the fact that she was
04:47an emerging leader, that she had this really unique perspective that said that we can both focus on
04:54stopping violent crime and also making the kinds of investments that would make it impossible for
05:00crime to happen in the first place. And for me, this was transformational. I thought, oh my God,
05:03who is this woman? This is incredible. And as I launched my own career, that very, my own
05:09campaign that year, I did so really looking to Kamala Harris as a model for what I thought was
05:16possible. And I learned about her in Essence Magazine. I did go on to win that race and following
05:23the race a couple of days after I won it, I got a call from Kamala Harris who heard that I was talking
05:28all about her in Maryland and about this great program that I wanted to replicate. And she called
05:33and said, hey, look, I'm here and I want to support you. Tell me what I can do. I flew out to California to
05:39meet with her to talk about what she had done as district attorney in San Francisco. And the rest is history.
05:45She's now a really good friend, a great friend. She's been a role model and mentor. And it is my
05:51great hope that someone reading your article will also be able to look to me and say, you know what,
05:57I'm going to do, you know, I'm going to, I'm going to know now that I can do that work as well. But
06:02that's what the black media outlets do for us is I would have never known about Kamala Harris,
06:09who at the time became attorney general, if it had not been for Essence Magazine.
06:13I mean, now that you spoke about that at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in
06:182024, you spoke about that moment, reading about Kamala Harris and, you know, and in your Senate
06:24journey, how do you hope that amplification not only of your story, but of the stories of
06:30other women like Kamala Harris and those who may be unknown at this time, but how do you hope black
06:35media can continue to amplify these journeys as it's important for, you know, people to know,
06:41like, not just what's happening nationally, but what may be happening in their own backyard,
06:45their states, their cities, their counties?
06:49So, you know, that's a great question. Let me just answer it this way. I want every black woman
06:53reading right now about my story and comparing it to where we are in our country's history to get the
06:59distinct message that we are not only needed right now in our communities, in our country, but that
07:05we're winning. The story of Kamala Harris and of my own story, and I know you've also talked to
07:11Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester, is a story of success made possible by the women reading your magazine.
07:18What I mean by that is, really, we went 30 years where we didn't, we only had only elected one black
07:24woman to the Senate. Because of the engagement of so many women, and black women in particular,
07:30we not only elected Kamala Harris as the second senator, and the first vice president, who was a
07:37woman of any background to our country. But we then went on in this past election cycle, and elected
07:43not one, but two African American women to the Senate. And so these are historic accomplishments.
07:50It's also further evidence that our engagement does matter, and that we're winning. That's a message
07:57I hope you're right. Because the lies have told us that the efforts of black women over the last few
08:02years have been futile. And I think that this is the biggest lie ever told. Everyone watching knows
08:07that when we mobilize and come together and organize and support each other, great things happen.
08:13So I want women to continue to be active and engaged, not just in national politics, but go out and run for
08:19school board. I want you running like crazy for county councils and city councils and mayors and other
08:25positions. Because it's not just that our elections matter, but our mere presence in these rooms changes
08:31the discussion. And we have to be a part of these discussions if we are going to change the trajectory
08:37of our country for our families. So I want to send the signal to, you've heard it from my mouth,
08:44to the ears of all of your listeners, your representation matters. And black women are winning big.
08:50When black women are winning big, I think, you know, with that, it's important that we kind of
08:58touch on when you think about the future of black women in politics, you know, there's been, as you
09:03mentioned, such an increased momentum, engagement, black women are winning when they are running for
09:08office. What do you see or what do you hope will be that future of black women in politics as it
09:14continues to evolve? Are there any things, as you see it, that black women will kind of, that you,
09:21in your mind, black women will kind of trend towards? Or what you see as a trajectory for black
09:27women in politics? Well, I can tell you what my own trajectory is, I hope, is I see my goal as really
09:38creating opportunity and economic opportunity in particular to create prosperity. That's something
09:45we don't talk enough about, is about prosperity and what that looks like for our communities.
09:51In other words, you know, I believe that we have to continue to work towards social justice,
09:57but that social justice, I think, is amplified by advances and accomplishments in the areas of
10:04economic prosperity. So that when we talk about all businesses, access to capital, when we talk about
10:10acquiring home ownership, and making sure that we do the things to create generational wealth,
10:16then that will help us to also wipe out some of the other challenges that confront our communities,
10:21much of which is connected to economic opportunity, your health is connected, unfortunately, to that
10:29prosperity, making sure that we are eliminating food deserts, and we have access to healthy
10:34foods and health care. All of those things, I think, come about as a result of economic prosperity.
10:39And so I want to see more people get involved. And when you get involved, make sure that you are
10:44involved on every level. Get involved in understanding what technology is going to mean to us,
10:50innovation, how we can be a part of the conversations around growing our communities economically.
10:57It's going to be really important to our success, and it's going to be a part of making sure that we are
11:03at the table in the future. Having us at the table in the future really starts with what we're seeing
11:09right now. And we know that at this time, you know, for the first time in our history as a country,
11:15we have two Black women who are currently serving in the U.S. Senate. As we mentioned earlier, you are
11:21serving alongside Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester, each of you bringing unique experience and perspective
11:28to the table. How do you view the significance of this moment in history? And what does it mean to
11:34you to serve alongside another Black woman in this space?
11:39Oh, my God. Let me tell you, I love serving with Lisa Blunt Rochester, who I refer to as my sister senator.
11:48And she refers to me in the same way. There is something powerful about walking in the chamber and knowing
11:54that I am not alone. And by that, I mean, you know, a person who shared your experience, there are certain
11:59discussions that don't even have to happen. We sat down and had lunch very early on, talked about our children
12:04and our families. But there are certain shared aspects of our experiences that bond us without
12:11words being exchanged. We support each other implicitly. And I'm very proud of her. But I'm
12:17also grateful to all of the women who made our elections possible. We had women like Higher Heights come
12:24to support us. We had the Black Women's Roundtable who rallied like crazy. We had the Divine Nine step in
12:31and make this possible. So we were very well supported, not only by our communities in Delaware
12:36and Maryland, but I'm going to tell you that people mobilized Black people all across our country,
12:42and in particular, Black women who were dead serious about raising the money, about organizing,
12:47about getting on social media, about doing everything that was necessary to make sure that we were
12:53successful in our elections. And again, that's why I want Black women in particular to feel hopeful
12:58and to have women and others hopeful about what it looks like for us to enter these races to know
13:04that we can win when we mobilize, organize, bring our resources together. We can certainly win and we
13:11are winning and we're going to continue to win in the future. And thank you for that. And she and
13:17Senator Blunt Rochester did mention you as her sister senator and said, sometimes you don't have to say a
13:22word. It's just, you can give a look and it's understood. That shared, those shared, some of
13:29those shared experiences. And I totally got that right away. Yeah, I got to tell you a funny story.
13:35So we have a senator's bathroom, a senator only bathroom. And the two of us came out of the restroom
13:41and said, okay, they have mouthwash. They got everything else. Where's the lotion? I mean, you know,
13:46we're together. We're like, there's something missing in that bathroom. There's no hand lotion in that
13:52bathroom. Our hands need some lotion, you know, our skin needs some lotion. So we both know the same
14:00thing. So yeah, some of this stuff doesn't have to even, does not require words. It's just a shared
14:06experience. When you think about legacy, Senator Also Brooks, what does it mean to you? And how would
14:13you say you are kind of shaping the things that you would hope to be yours? You've been doing this a
14:19really long time, but definitely you're a first term in the Senate. So a lot more to go.
14:26So when I think about legacy, you know, I think about my grandmother, her name was Sarah Daisy.
14:31Some people have heard me talk about her, the person who taught herself to type
14:35on the refrigerator in her kitchen, putting a white piece of paper on the refrigerator.
14:40She aspired to work in the federal government. And I'm sure at the time she had no idea that I would not
14:48only come behind her and support the federal workforce and to be a part of what we're doing
14:52in Washington, but that I would serve in one of the highest positions in government, which is in the
14:58Senate. And so I say that to say that I think it should be the goal of every one of us that every
15:05successive generation should do better than the one that came before it. So it is my hope that my
15:1019 year old daughter and all of her peers are looking out and recognizing that they will not
15:16only, I don't want it to be the case that they are just kind of succeeding on the margins. I want
15:21them to succeed beyond their wildest dreams. That's our assignment is to knock down these systemic
15:27barriers that prevent our kids from opening any door. I want every door to be open to our kids.
15:32That means the doors to great healthcare and access to it, the doors to be able to use their
15:41gifts and talents in any arena they so decide, whether it's medicine, research, law, business,
15:47any area that they want to. I want them to acquire homes and to pass on wealth to their children.
15:54And for us not to be afraid of the word wealth, I want wealth and prosperity to be able to be a
15:59realistic expectation for generations to come, as well as to have the kind of peace that comes
16:07in knowing that you have been able to not be blocked in using your gifts and talents. So legacy
16:12to me means every generation should do better than the one before it. And that's what I'm working
16:18toward. I want it to be of no consequence that we're elected to the Senate. I want it to be a foregone
16:25conclusion. And not that there are two women in the Senate, but that there are multiple black women
16:30in the Senate. That it becomes a norm, you know, of some sorts to have black women in the Senate or
16:37in serving in other, other roles across the government. Yes. And with that, I just wanted to
16:45ask you what advice you, so you gave a little bit there with what you would hope to see for the
16:50next generation, people of your daughter's age, who's 19, for young women who may be interested
16:57in, you know, public service, or just in any field, and they're just not sure where to start.
17:04What would you say to them on how to just get started? Because sometimes that's all you need
17:09is to get going.
17:12It is. Well, you know, I'm going to give some advice that I gave to my own daughter,
17:16who came to me right before she left for college. She is a student at Spelman College,
17:22as a matter of fact. And before she left for college, she came to me and said, I'm not sure
17:27what job I'd like to get. And she was deeply concerned about that. And I said to her, you know,
17:33your assignment is not finding a job, it's finding your life's purpose. And a way to get there is to
17:38identify the thing you love and then pursue that with everything you have. For some people,
17:43that will be a career in public service. That's what it was for me is just recognizing I love people
17:48and wanted to spend every day of my life trying to find a way to improve the condition for other
17:54people. And I've been so lucky to be able to find that. But to find the thing that you love,
18:00to do it with everything you have. And then, you know, to also be aware as a cautionary tale,
18:06that becoming successful means that you have to also become intimately familiar with the feeling
18:12of being uncomfortable. I can't tell you how many times during the course of this journey,
18:16I have felt the familiar feeling of being just uncomfortable, that it has been so challenging
18:22at times that I had to live in a space of discomfort. And you know what? I made friends
18:26with discomfort because I know that when you are on the edge of a breakthrough, you sometimes feel
18:33uncomfortable. And that in some ways is how you know you're headed in the right direction,
18:38is that the level of the challenge also tells you, in some instances, the level of breakthrough
18:45in respecting the importance of what you're undertaking. So don't be discouraged by discomfort.
18:51This stuff is not easy. Putting your sign out and running for office, putting your name out there,
18:57putting your time on the line is very challenging, but it is worth it. I have enjoyed all 28 years of
19:04my time in public service. And I feel in many ways, like we're still just getting started.
19:10Yes, there's so much to do. Well, Senator Austin Brooks, I want to be conscious of time. And I want
19:16to thank you so much for just sharing with us, especially for this anniversary issue. We are really
19:24happy to be able to spotlight Black women across different sectors, but particularly in the political
19:29arena where we have seen so much momentum and evolution. And we really are grateful that we
19:36had an opportunity to sit down with you today.
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