Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s victory in the New York state primary raised hope that Democrats who win seats in Congress this fall will be strong progressive candidates. Tahirah Amatul-Wadud, who is challenging 15-term Congressman Richard Neal in the 1st Congressional District of western Massachusets, is that kind of candidate.
I first heard Amatul-Wadud speak last winter in Shelburne. Curiosity, along with frustration with Neal’s absence from the Hampshire and Franklin county portions of his district, made me want to see this African-American, Muslim woman attorney who dared challenge an established and well-funded incumbent in his majority-white district.
I liked what I saw in Amatul-Wadud. I didn’t realize that she was already well known on Beacon Hill. The Women’s Caucus of the state Legislature appointed her to the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women.
Amatul-Wadud is comfortable talking with people of all ages. Religion, race, gender and economic disparities are not barriers for her. She wants to hear people’s problems, share their experiences, and advocate for them. Her gentle laugh puts folks at ease, yet she is smart, tough, and fearless, both in the courtroom and on the streets.
Amatul-Wadud’s passion for social justice is grounded in her faith and her experiences growing up in Springfield. Her family moved there in 1984, the year Neal became mayor. A condemned building stood at the end of the block where her family lived. One day two young boys, 4 and 6 years old, were picked up off the street, taken into the abandoned building, raped and left for dead.
Amatul-Wadud, then a high schooler, galvanized her community. She made signs and organized a rally in front of the building. Together the neighbors marched up the steps to City Hall and demanded that the building be boarded up immediately. She learned early on that organizing counts, real change demands action and one person can make a difference.
I heard Amatul-Wadud tell that story at “Why I March,” a Northampton program where women activists talked about what drove them to become leaders. Most participants read from prepared notes, but Amatul-Wadud spoke spontaneously, from her heart. That night convinced me that if anyone could pull the disparate communities of western Massachusetts together and give us the representation we need in Congress and the attention we deserve at home, it was Amatul-Wadud.
Congressman Neal has let us down. Unwilling to meet his constituents in their town halls, ignoring requests for public debate, filling his campaign chest with donations from corporate sponsors and lobbyists, he no longer represents the voters of this district. He cannot speak for the majority black and Hispanic citizens of Springfield and Holyoke, or for the farmers, small business owners, and workers in the rural communities. He doesn’t talk to us.
I often envy residents of the other congressional district in western Massachusetts who have a strong advocate in U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern. He shows up and speaks out on critical issues. He energizes his constituents even though making positive change under this administration is all but impossible.
Like Massachusetts Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, McGovern wants to create a single-payer, Medicare-for-All national health care system. Amatul-Wadud, who does not accept corporate campaign contributions, also wants Medicare for All as do her endorsers: the National Indivisibles movement of the Democratic Party and the Progressive Democrats of America.
Where does Neal stand on health care issues? According to two glossy mailings, I’ve received, targeted to seniors, he is a “Champion of Health Care Innovation” and a “Champion of Medicare Access.” Unfortunately, the organizations that paid for these mailings are out-of-state lobbyists handsomely funded by large pharmaceutical, medical equipment and biotech corporations.
These same groups have lobbied against legislation to curb excessive use of prescription opioids, against enabling Medicare to negotiate for lower drug costs and for delaying access to cheaper generic drugs. At the end of 2017, after many months of meetings, Massachusetts Progressive Democrats reported that Neal had finally agreed not to oppose a single-payer bill if it came up for a vote. What a health care champion!
I don’t know how many more such endorsements Neal will get, but if you want to see a real champion, go meet Amatul-Wadud at the town halls, backyard gatherings, fairs, festivals and farmers markets where she will appear throughout the summer.
Talk with a candidate who spends time listening. That is what democracy should look like. I hope you will vote in the primary on Sept. 4 to make Tahirah Amatul-Wadud your Democratic congresswoman.
Elaine Ulman, of Goshen, is active in Indivisible Williamsburg.