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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsLauren Underwood Is the Future
The youngest Black woman in Congress has pulled off not one, but two, miraculous wins in a purple district. Whats her secret? Talking to people and making them feel heard, no matter how wide the divide.Imagine what it must have felt like to be Rep. Lauren Underwood, the youngest Black woman in Congress, on the day when the halls of our nations Capitol building were stormed by an angry mob of white supremacist election deniers, some of whom sought to hang legislators by noose on makeshift gallows they had constructed outside.
Underwood had arrived at her office early that morning, after first stopping to receive her second dose of the coronavirus vaccine. She was watching the electoral certification process on TV (not all members attended in person due to the pandemic) when she saw some of her colleagues being rushed off the floor. As the images were playing out onscreen, she says she started hearing loud noisesbangs or gunshots, almost like cannonsin the hallway outside. It was only her second time in her new office; she didnt yet know the escape routes. As she and her chief of staff barricaded the door with furniture, her phone started making all these noises Id never heard, alerting her that nearby buildings had been evacuated due to bomb threats. There was no actionable information, Underwood tells me two days after the attack, just Shelter in place, Stay put, Be quiet.
She ventured into the adjoining empty office of a House colleague so that she could peek into the hallway to see what was going on. Her stomach must have sank when she realized the door had shut behind her, locking her out of her office and leaving her without her phone, computer, and iPadall of which remained inside. She had only her member pin to identify her.
Underwood was eventually escorted to an undisclosed location, but what should have been a safe space was anything but when she realized the room was crammed full of Republicans who refused to put on masks. It was the most direct superspreader exposure I had ever been in, says Underwood, 34. After all those months of being so careful with COVID... (She has a heart condition called supraventricular tachycardia and is sure that if she got the virus, I'd be symptomatic, and it would be rough.)
Underwood had arrived at her office early that morning, after first stopping to receive her second dose of the coronavirus vaccine. She was watching the electoral certification process on TV (not all members attended in person due to the pandemic) when she saw some of her colleagues being rushed off the floor. As the images were playing out onscreen, she says she started hearing loud noisesbangs or gunshots, almost like cannonsin the hallway outside. It was only her second time in her new office; she didnt yet know the escape routes. As she and her chief of staff barricaded the door with furniture, her phone started making all these noises Id never heard, alerting her that nearby buildings had been evacuated due to bomb threats. There was no actionable information, Underwood tells me two days after the attack, just Shelter in place, Stay put, Be quiet.
She ventured into the adjoining empty office of a House colleague so that she could peek into the hallway to see what was going on. Her stomach must have sank when she realized the door had shut behind her, locking her out of her office and leaving her without her phone, computer, and iPadall of which remained inside. She had only her member pin to identify her.
Underwood was eventually escorted to an undisclosed location, but what should have been a safe space was anything but when she realized the room was crammed full of Republicans who refused to put on masks. It was the most direct superspreader exposure I had ever been in, says Underwood, 34. After all those months of being so careful with COVID... (She has a heart condition called supraventricular tachycardia and is sure that if she got the virus, I'd be symptomatic, and it would be rough.)
MUCH more...a great article about an impressive young Member of Congress:
https://www.elle.com/culture/a35524502/lauren-underwood-is-the-future/?utm_medium=social-media&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=socialflowTWELM
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Lauren Underwood Is the Future (Original Post)
George II
Feb 2021
OP
Thekaspervote
(32,606 posts)1. She's a good one!! We need more of her
Blue Owl
(49,939 posts)2. K&R
tritsofme
(17,325 posts)3. Illinois Democrats really need to help her in redistricting.
The way that district is today, she is highly vulnerable to getting swept out in a bad cycle. She has been a great story to watch over the last few years!
Cha
(295,929 posts)4. Yeah, it's not easy winning
in a Purple District but Rep Underwood has Done it! Twice!