Applause on House floor for 1st Black woman from Virginia to join Congress
WASHINGTON — Democrat Jennifer McClellan, holding the receipt for a poll tax her father once had to pay tucked into the pages of a family Bible, was sworn into the U.S. House last week, becoming the first Black woman to represent Virginia in Congress.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy held a ceremonial swearing-in Tuesday with McClellan, who was joined by her two children, on the chamber floor. Members on both sides of the House — Democrats and Republicans — stood and applauded when it was noted she was the first Black woman to represent Virginia in Congress.
Virginia is now the 23rd state to be represented by a Black woman, according to a recent Pew Research Center analysis of historical records.
“It is a tremendous honor, not only when I think back on my own family history, and what my parents and grandparents and great-grandparents went through to make this possible, but the fact that I’m the first from Virginia, the birthplace of American democracy and the birthplace of American slavery, is kind of poetic justice,” McClellan told The Associated Press in an interview Monday.
McClellan recalled how her parents and grandparents faced Jim Crow-era obstacles just to vote. She said her grandfather had to prove he could read and find three white men to vouch for it. Her father, a pastor and professor, had to pay a poll tax to vote and kept the proof in his now-worn Bible. Her mother, the first woman in her family to attend school beyond eighth grade, did not vote until the 1965 Voting Acts Right was enacted.
“What sparked my interest in government was listening to them tell their stories, where they saw the best of government in the New Deal and the worst of government in Jim Crow,” she told the AP. “Those stories not only made me want to focus on making government a force for helping people and solving problems, but I’ll carry those stories into the House chamber with me.”
The longtime state lawmaker won a special election last month to represent Virginia’s blue-leaning 4th District, which stretches from Richmond south to the border with North Carolina. The seat was opened when Democratic Rep. Donald McEachin died weeks after being elected to a fourth term in November.
McClellan won’t shift the balance of power in the House, which is narrowly held by Republicans with a 222-seat majority. Democrats have 213 seats.
McClellan called McEachin a “big brother” figure, starting with his mentorship of Black college students like her at the University of Richmond. McClellan went on to become an associate general counsel at Verizon over a 20-year career with the company.
McClellan, the first Virginia state delegate to give birth while in office, has two children.