The Barbara Lee Press Conference

Before the Thomas Merton Award dinner on November 9th, Congresswoman Barbara Lee was gracious enough to sit down with members of the local Pittsburgh press. Reporters from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the New Pittsburgh Courier, and, of course, the NewPeople, were in attendance. NewPeople interns Nijah Glenn and Mary Sico had several of their questions answered by Congresswoman Lee.

Nijah’s first question focused on substance abuse and treatment, asking the Congresswoman’s opinions on the “changing drug policy, now that the demographics associated with drug arrests have changed over the past few years.”

Congresswoman Lee noted the growing push for rehabilitation, drug treatment, and alternatives to incarceration. Lee also stressed that many incarcerated persons “need to be treated for mental health issues or substance abuse,” and called for reform of the criminal justice system. “There is no way,” she said, “that people should be in jail for twenty years for selling marijuana, and that is what is happening.”

Mary then asked Lee about her experiences as a woman of color in a Congress overwhelmingly dominated by white men. Lee offered some insight into what this has meant for her in a very real way: having to work “ten times harder” to raise money, “all the time in small donations.” Though she prefers smaller donations, this fact also “means that a larger portion of [her] time as a black woman has to be spent running for reelection.” Lee called this a “big issue,” noting that “there are twenty-one women in the Congressional Black Caucus who all have the same issue.”

Finally, Nijah asked the Congresswoman about her thoughts concerning the actual progress made by “women in the workforce, including women of color, to bridge the economic gaps” since 2009 when the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was passed during President Obama’s administration.

Congresswoman Lee stressed the sobering fact that the gender wage gap is still very real, especially for women of color. Though she celebrated the fact that the Lily Ledbetter Act was the first bill signed into law after President Obama’s election, she spoke of the difficulty in having similar acts passed through Congress. Despite a push for progressive bills, Lee emphasized that there was still much to be done legislatively. “We need to have our paid family medical leave, our childcare bill, and our pay equity bill passed,” she said.

On behalf of the entire Thomas Merton Center and its members, we would like to thank Congresswoman Lee for the time she spent with us. It was a great pleasure speaking with her.

Nijah Glenn and Mary Sico are interns at the Thomas Merton Center and members of the NewPeople editorial collective.

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