August 25, 2021

Special to BuzzFlash by Spenser Seddon

This week’s BuzzFlash “Wings of Justice” award goes to Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), the bold, upstanding first-term congresswoman representing Missouri’s first district in the US House. Rep. Bush has steadily made a name for herself as a progressive political agent and activist, seizing the attention of the powerful and the public at large. Even so, she’s also remained steadfast in her commitment to supporting and serving the marginalized and “regular, everyday people” in her native St. Louis and all across the country. Particularly in light of her inspiring recent victory pushing to extend the national eviction moratorium – a key part of the ongoing federal response to the pandemic crisis – we’re proud to honor and support Congresswoman Cori Bush.

In appreciating Rep. Bush, it’s worth starting off with understanding at least one fact that sets her apart from the majority of her colleagues in Congress: Bush has “lived the struggles that many in her community face,” as her House.gov biography summarily puts it. Through that personal experience, struggling at times with poverty, being unhoused, and surviving “police, sexual, and domestic violence,” Bush knows firsthand just how difficult, painful, and precarious day-to-day life can be for so many Americans in similar positions – and, crucially, it informs her perspective, her politics, and her work. The depth and broad scope of Bush’s years of working experience further speak to how invested and connected she is with the communities she serves; even just presently, Congresswoman Bush is also “a registered nurse, community activist, organizer, single mother, and ordained pastor for the people of St. Louis.” You could say the work for the people never stops – and, from the looks of it, neither does Cori Bush.

Bush’s entry into the world of “Politics” (with a capital “P”) is largely rooted in her enduring work as an activist, particularly as related to addressing the inherently political experience of police brutality, racism, and poverty by Black Americans. The aftermath of the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in 2014 in Ferguson, MO compelled Bush to action, working as a triage nurse and organizer amidst confrontations with police. Emerging from over a year of activism in Ferguson and asked to run for office by local leaders in the community, Bush eventually obliged, running admirably (if unsuccessfully) in 2016 as a Democratic contender for US Senate before then turning to later contests for the House seat in Missouri’s first district. Running twice against long-standing incumbent Democrat Lacy Clay, Bush lost her initial 2018 primary contest by almost a 20-point margin; two years later, however, Bush’s “insurgent” campaign landed a historic primary win by defeating Clay with a nearly 3-point lead before going on to win her Congressional seat in the 2020 general election.

In view of the mounting crises and historic events that took shape in those few recent years – particularly, the swell of activism against racism and police brutality in the wake of the documented death of George Floyd, and the emergence and tragic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic – Cori Bush’s election reflects an encouraging silver lining of sorts. Even as circumstances are dire, we’re seeing to a significant extent that many Americans are ready and willing to take serious strides in a progressive direction, strongly to the left, as a corrective response to the crises at hand. And better yet, rare candidates like Cori Bush are making good on their campaign promises, living up to their progressive principles, and earning the confidence and faith that’s been placed in them by voters.

Since her ascent to the House this year, Rep. Bush’s tenure to date has been busy and eventful, to say the least. Dealing with the advent of Trump supporters’ violent, chaotic coup attempt during the Capitol Insurrection right out of the gate, for one, Bush has only further firmed up her resolve as she’s been working. Joining up with the esteemed ranks of “The Squad,” Rep. Bush has steadily turned out and supported legislation and multi-faceted efforts tied to all manner of progressive policy. Key priorities and policy goals within Bush’s platform, for instance, include her support for Medicare For All, defunding the police, criminal justice and policing reform, tuition-free state college, universal basic income on an adequate scale, and establishing a $15/hour minimum wage – all of which Americans ought to support in some sense if they’re serious about meeting the moment and addressing the crises at hand. Rep. Bush sums up her sensibility in compelling fashion in describing how she stays “focused on serving those who have been given the least because that is what the government is supposed to do.”

Chief among her efforts to date is Rep. Bush’s inspiring success this month in preventing the lapse of the federal eviction moratorium, originally issued in response to fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Following a disappointing (and evidently lackluster) effort by top Democrats in July to find a way to extend the eviction moratorium, Cori Bush deftly initiated the use of a last-resort tactic to try to address the situation: she opted not to leave the Capitol during its summer recess, and instead defiantly camped and slept out on the Capitol steps in perpetuity – for what ended up being four long days. Drawing on her experience as both someone who’d been evicted and without housing (at one point, living in her car for a period with her children) and as a capable activist facing harsh odds, Bush had a deeply personal sense of and stake in the issue – in a way that most members of Congress couldn’t ever fathom. Facing the stark visibility of the demonstration led by Bush and with public pressure mounting, the Biden administration finally implemented a workaround extension of the eviction moratorium through October 3rd, formally deployed by the CDC as a public health measure. It’s a significant victory, if fleeting, and to Rep. Bush’s immense credit, helping to keep millions of Americans housed and better protected as the pandemic continues to surge (and while other federal measures hopefully take fuller effect in the interim).

As we move ahead from here, it’s our hope that Rep. Bush and her Congressional colleagues can continue to implement such progressive measures and policy – with the full-throated support of progressive allies and the public at large – in order to meet the moment and make the real change we need. We’re proud to stand with and support Rep. Cori Bush, and to honor her work with the BuzzFlash “Wings of Justice” award.

Spenser Seddon is a writer, editor, and marketing & communications professional based in Seattle.

BuzzFlash is once again honoring upstanding & outstanding people with our Wings of Justice recognition! Read the full collection of recent honorees here, and peruse selections archived from our original website here.

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