As Trump delivers joint address, Black women of Congress help lead the resistance

Donald Trump’s first joint address to Congress as the 47th president of the United States on Tuesday night was met with resistance from Democrats on Capitol Hill. But it’s the elected Black members, particularly Black women, of Congress who are working to lead and shape the opposition to Trump’s agenda.

Ahead of Trump’s State of the Union-styled speech, members of the Congressional Black Caucus gathered on Capitol Hill to speak with Black reporters about how they are responding to the flood of executive actions that have left thousands unemployed and billions of dollars for critical programs in jeopardy.

“There are members [of the Congressional Black Caucus]…with very diverse constituencies, and we intend to face Donald Trump, wherever it be; whether it’s in the chambers of the House of Representatives or the streets of this nation,” said Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus. “We’re going to be in his face. We’re going to do everything we can in unity to push back and to stop the most egregious of things from happening that come through the legislative process.”

President Trump’s speech also happened during Women’s History Month, which is symbolic as key voices from Black women in Congress forcefully call out the dangers of the Trump administration’s actions and potentially help to lay the groundwork for what Democrats hope to be a mass public resistance.

U.S. Rep. Lateefah Simon, D-Calif., delivered a “prebuttal” to Trump’s evening joint address on behalf of the progressive Working Families Party.

Prominent Black congresswomen, like longtime Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, have been hitting the airwaves and the pavements to join demonstrators—many of whom lost their jobs as a result of Trump’s mass firings—outside of federal buildings in protest of the Trump White House. Others, like Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Ill., the co-chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, joined by Reps. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., and Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., are engaging Democrats on their policy messaging.

In just six weeks, the Trump administration has made massive cuts to the federal workforce and funding for critical programs, eliminated diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, renewed efforts to expand mass deportations, and fired key nonpartisan officials meant to maintain stability, accountability and transparency in the federal government. Many of these actions are presently being challenged in court. What’s more, on Tuesday morning, Trump also set off a tariff trade war with China, Canada, and Mexico.

Congresswoman Simon told theGrio that the United States will be “sicker” and “poorer” as a result of the “chaos” of Trump’s executive orders.

“They have been meant to be dizzying, to make people feel powerless. But we say absolutely not,” said Simon, a freshman congresswoman who was elected to fill the 12th Congressional District seat once held by former Rep. Barbara Lee. “The framers, while they didn’t have in mind that Black people and brown people would be in the United States Congress and that white allies would be in the United States Congress, we are, and we are going to hold this president and the Senate and the Congress and the judiciary to its promise.”

There’s an irony to the activism and leadership of elected Black women in Congress at this moment, as the loss of former Vice President Kamala Harris to Trump in the November 2024 election left Black women voters and organizers feeling devastated and let down by the majority of the country that voted against Harris or stayed home altogether.

Congresswoman Simon told theGrio that while Black women have been “consistent,” it is “frustrating to see that over 90% of African-American women tried to save this country.” She continued, “And again, folks don’t listen or believe Black women. And here we are.”

Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., told theGrio that she personally understands why many Black women still have a “feeling of deep betrayal” after the 2024 election, Black women must “continue to build,” but “not for anybody else.” She added, “We’re building for us.” Lee continued, “We’re building because Black girls and Black boys deserve a country that persists. They deserve to have a safe space, be it clean air and clean water or safe from state violence…So I’m building for them.”

The progressive congresswoman said that the Black women of Congress possess “ancestral courage,” adding, “We aren’t the ones who are backing down. Black women in Congress are stepping up every single day.”

Congresswoman Simon said she is “proud to be marching in that tune” of Black women truthtellers in Congress and beyond, she also emphasized the leadership of House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who she said has empowered the Black women of his caucus to stand out front. Simon said Leader Jeffries is “an amazing strategist” whose job is to see “the forest from the trees,” adding, “He has been extremely supportive of freshmen Democrats like myself to be in the bushes.”

Some Black activists, joined by CBC members like Crockett and Reps. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, and Nikema Williams, D-Ga., participated in a 24-hour livestream called “State of the People” as a counterprotest to Trump’s joint address to Congress. Political strategist Angela Rye noted that the virtual event was intended to center the truth in opposition to their anticipation of Trump’s “lies.”

Aimee Allison, founder of She The People, an organization dedicated to building political power for women of color, told theGrio, “Unfortunately, we have seen tepid, confused, unclear, weak leadership from many in Congress.” The advocate added, “Many Democrats, including Democratic leadership, don’t seem to know what to say or to say effectively, and a lot of us have been underwhelmed.” However, Allison, who is a participant in the State of the People 24-hour live stream, said she is heartened by some of the Black women in Congress like Simon, who is her elected representative, and Jasmine Crockett, who are “distinguishing” themselves.

“It’s the role that we have played historically, and [Black women] are meeting the moment in a way a lot of other people won’t or can’t,” said Allison.

In terms of strategy, Congresswoman Crockett told reporters that Democrats have to keep “meeting people where they are.” She shared how, despite personal reservations, she joined TikTok to expand her reach to voters. The Texas lawmaker noted that she now has 400,000 followers.

“We have to make sure that we’re hitting all parts of our Black demographic because to pretend as if we are still just a monolith…we are not,” said Crockett. “There are so many different groups of people that we need to talk to…that means we’re going to talk to them differently.”

While Democrats strategize their public messaging, their ability to legislate is more cumbersome. U.S. Del. Stacey Plaskett, who represents the U.S. Virgin Islands and does not have voting privileges in Congress, had a sobering outlook on what lies ahead for Democrats in Congress as Republicans stare down a majority for the next two years.

“I’m a Black woman in America. I represent a territory. I know what it’s like not to have a voice,” Plaskett told reporters on Tuesday. “We cannot, in the minority, offer legislation. We cannot bring bills to the floor. We do not have the votes.”

Congresswoman Plaskett said it’s important that American voters understand the limitations of Democrats and “recognize that this is everyone on deck.” She continued, “That’s the only way that we’re going to be able to win; everybody coming on deck and not looking just to us to be able to solve these problems, but us working collectively, supporting one another.”