With the first African American woman elected governor

BY SOUMANOU SALIFOU

The return of the U.S. House of Representatives under the control of the Democratic party has paved the way for the rise of the first African American speaker of the parliament in U.S. history, 20 years after the country hailed as the strongest democracy in the world had its first woman speaker, Californian political icon Nancy Pelosi, and 18 years after the election of the first African American president.

Hakeem Sekou Jeffries (note his  African middle name Sekou) has been representing New York’s 8th district since 2013, and serving as the leader of the House Democratic Caucus and House minority leader since 2023. Prior to that, he represented the 57th district in the New York State Assembly from 2007 to 2012.

“It is an historic moment for the Congress, and a historic moment for the women of this country. It is a moment for which we have waited over 200 years,” Pelosi said when he received the gravel from her Republican predecessor, John Boehner, in January 2007. “For our daughters and granddaughters, today we have broken the marble ceiling. For our daughters and our granddaughters, the sky is the limit, anything is possible for them.”

When elected by his peers as the House speaker next January, Jeffries, 56, will make history, too, at a critical junction in U.S. history while the most corrupt, incompetent, and chaos-driven U.S. president in recent U.S. history sits in the Oval Office, having dragged the United States in a costly, unpopular war with devastating consequences for the United States and the rest of the world.

Political analysts have predicted that Democratic leaders’ top agenda when they gain control of one or both chambers of the legislative branch, will include bringing down the sky-high cost of living and investigating Trump, his administration, and his family.

In addition to her impressive accomplishments as House speaker, Pelosi oversaw Trump’s first and second impeachments, in 2019 and 2021. Democrats are so far divided over whether to impeach Trump for his many illegal actions and his obscene flirting with the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. But, in case that happens, in addition to the huge symbol of an African American legislator holding the gavel of the U.S. House of Representatives, it would be a watershed moment to see him oversee the impeachment of the most racist U.S. president in recent memory who has unapologetically done a lot to undo the civil rights gains of the African community.

Among other firsts of the historic night in the rise of African American politicians, former mayor of Atlanta, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, won the gubernatorial seat in the key swing state despite being outspent by Republican billionaire Rick Jackson who tapped more than $200 million of his fortune to keep his seat.

Just as Hakeem Jeffries will make history by rising to the lofty position of speaker of the House in January, Bottoms will be sworn in as the first Black woman elected governor in the United States.

“No matter who you voted for tonight, I will be a governor for all of Georgia,” the governor-elect said in her victory speech, calling it a win for all Georgians. She added, “Georgia, we sent a message loud and clear that we want a leader who will put Georgia first and who will stand up to all the chaos coming out of Washington, DC.”

The next two years will be tough for the MAGA world who have no one but their corrupt leader to blame for their crushing defeat at the polls—a losing president who has already distanced himself from the election results.