Report on a specific WOMAN IN A PUBLIC LEADERSHIP POSITION (elected or not).  What is her personal, professional, and educational background? Which leadership theory does she seem to subscribe to and under what circumstances does she exhibit those specific leadership skills? What challenges has she faced and how has she dealt with them? What can we learn from her example? [Length of assignment:  4-5 pages not including references or appendices]

On January 3, Rep. Cori Bush became the first Black woman sworn into Congress to represent Missouri, serving the states first district that includes the St. Louis area. 

The nurse, pastor and longtime community leader became politically active following the 2014 shooting death of  by a Ferguson, Missouri police officer. 

The Black Lives Matter activists road to Congress kicked off with a long-shot campaign for the Senate in 2016 and an unsuccessful 2018 run to unseat Democratic incumbent Rep. William Lacy Clay Jr., who represented the district beginning 2001; prior to that, his father held the seat for 32 years.

But 2020 was different. Amid distress caused by the pandemic, Bush gained momentum with a campaign that prioritized progressive policies including universal basic income, a $15 minimum wage, Medicare for All, criminal justice reform and the Green New Deal. 

Her progressive platform comes from personal experience and a reminder that I am the people I serve,  days before Missouris August primary. I have lived low-wage. Ive been unhoused, living out of a car with two children. I have lived uninsured … Im a victim of violent crime. Im a survivor of sexual assault and domestic violence. So Ive been through so many things that have happened here in this community that havent really been addressed by our congressperson even though hes been in that seat for 20 years.

Bush earned strong support in St. Louis and from Black voters to unseat Clay in Missouris Democratic primary, and was elected into her history-making role in November. Jennifer Liu