All Black History Month long, Cheddar News is highlighting industry trailblazers that continue to carve their own paths and set trends across a number of disciplines.
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D - MA) joined Cheddar News to talk about her experience being the first Black woman elected to Congress from the state of Massachusetts. She noted that being the first is a privilege but she recognizes that it also comes with a host of responsibilities.
"I have twice now broken concrete ceilings but certainly that did not happen just by my own sheer strength. It was about timing and grace and hard work but also many who came before who blazed a trail. And I don't just mean those who ran for office and won, I mean those who ran and lost. They made the road a little bit easier," she told Cheddar News.
Pressley was also the first Black woman to serve on the Boston City Council.
When it comes to battling adversity in politics, she said staying the course is key and not losing sight of the goal you set out to accomplish is how she overcame trying times. Pressley also noted that by not chasing power, position, or prestige and staying committed to having an impact on Black and other marginalized people, she was able to navigate her political ascension more easily.
"I'm someone who is very fortunate because I had a clarity of purpose very early in my life, probably since the age of 10 and I credit my mother for that. A parent is a child's first teacher and I had an extraordinary one -- in both my mother and my father," she said.
More than 90% of the people killed by a 6.3-magnitude earthquake in western Afghanistan last weekend were women and children, U.N. officials reported Thursday.
Millions of Social Security recipients will get a 3.2% increase in their benefits in 2024, far less than this year's historic boost and reflecting moderating consumer prices.
Palestinians in Gaza lined up outside bakeries on Thursday after spending the night in pitch darkness surrounded by the ruins of pulverized neighborhoods, as Israel launched new airstrikes and said it was preparing for a possible ground invasion.
Republicans on Wednesday nominated Rep. Steve Scalise to be the next House speaker and will now try to unite around the conservative in a floor vote to elect him after ousting Rep. Kevin McCarthy from the post.
The number of U.S. citizens confirmed to have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war has risen to at least 22 with at least 17 more Americans unaccounted for, the State Department said Wednesday. That's an increase in the death toll from 14 the day before, in a war that has already claimed more than 2,200 lives on both sides.
