Politics in Missouri has been hit by a "wave of black girl magic," said city treasurer Tishaura Jones, one of three women to claim historic victories in yesterday's state primary.
Jones, along with attorney Kim Gardner and US House of Representatives Cori Bush, is part of an unprecedented trend for black women to be successful in voting this year. Bush in particular knocked out the ten-year establishment of Democratic incumbent William Lacy Clay to vote in the general election.
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If Bush won, she would be the first black woman to represent Missouri in Congress. Bush's win against Clay came as a big surprise, especially after losing to Clay (whose father also served as the House Representative before him) in 2018. Bush, Jones and Gardner, who run in highly democratic areas, are all likely to be winners in the November 3rd general election.
What makes the win even sweeter is that Bush, Jones, and Gardner are long-time friends with a common activist background.
"Two weeks ago I called Cori and said, can you imagine what would happen if all three of us won?" Jones said at a celebratory press conference with Bush and Gardner on Wednesday afternoon near the Gateway Arch, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. I said, 'Girl, the floor was going to shake. There would be a seismic shift. "
Jones added, “We're all three single mothers so we're running from a different location. We wonder how others who find themselves in the same situation will pay their bills and keep a roof over their heads. "
Bush said, "St. Louis spoke and St. Louis said we're tired of what was, we're tired of dirty politics. … We want to see and we need black women in St. Louis. "
"Voters are looking for a new generation of leaders," said Glynda C. Carr, president and CEO of Higher Heights for America, an organization that promotes black women for electoral positions across the country and tracks their progress.
"They bring their qualifications, but also their unique experience."
