More than 2,000 Americans have served in the U.S. Senate in its 234-year history. Only three of them have been Black women. Only three openly LGBTQ members have served.
Laphonza Butler’s appointment to the Senate from California, by Gov. Gavin Newsom, is a small but critical step toward a legislative body that fully reflects the diversity of the nation it serves. Her unique perspective is desperately needed at a moment when extremists across the nation are engaged in an unprecedented crusade to suppress LGBTQ voices, erase Black history, criminalize reproductive health, and weaken workers’ rights.
