Political Quotes

“I thank Representative Adams. First, I have to thank the gentlewoman for her tremendous leadership on so many issues. Our young people at our Historically Black Colleges and Universities really owe her a debt of gratitude. I thank her and Congresswoman Underwood for forming the Black Maternal Health Caucus, and also Congresswoman Robin Kelly, who has been such a tremendous leader in healthcare. Her MOMMA's Act, which I am proud to cosponsor, is really, truly, making a huge difference already. The horror of health disparities for African American women in many ways is very personal to me. Let me just share a quick story about my birth. When my mother, Congresswoman Adams, went into labor--this was in El Paso, Texas--she went to the hospital, and she needed a cesarean section. They refused her admission, and she nearly died as a result. By the time the very racist--it was a hospital that did not allow African Americans into the hospital. By the time they allowed her in, though, after my grandmother had to fight to get her in--as she told me the story over and over again as a child--they put her on a gurney in the hall. They just left her there. Again, she needed a C-section. She became delirious, became unconscious. Somebody finally saw her. By then, it was too late to do a C-section. They pulled her in, and the doctors really didn't know quite what to do. They finally decided to deliver me using forceps. My mother almost died. I almost didn't get here.…”