Rep. Janelle Bynum (D-OR)

Rep. Janelle Bynum (D-OR), is the first Black woman to represent Oregon in Congress. Her district is overwhelmingly white, but she said that the issues that are important to her - the economy and health care - are important to all Americans regardless of race.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
I'm Vanessa Tyler, reporting at the Congressional Black Caucus fifty
fourth Annual Legislative Conference on the Black Information Network, your
home for Black news First and speaking of firsts, please
welcome the first black person to represent Oregon, Congresswoman Janelle
Buying them Welcome.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
Thank you for having me.

Speaker 3 (00:21):
I just wanted to get.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
Your reaction just starting with some news breaking news of
the Komy indictment, but a reaction to that.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
It's more of a distraction. We should be focused on
our children, making sure that they have healthcare, that they
have food, not playing into Trump's antics. We know that
when he distracts from what we should really be focusing on,
he's winning. And I disagree with all of that.

Speaker 3 (00:49):
Would you talk about your district?

Speaker 1 (00:52):
I find that interesting because, as I mentioned, you are
the first black person to represent Oregon, but yet your
district is ninety seven percent white.

Speaker 2 (01:04):
It's pretty homogeneous. But what I have found is that
people everywhere have the same hopes and dreams for their children.
They want a stable and secure and retirement, they want
access to healthcare, they want to be prosperous, and that
transcends any race, nationality, and people have hopes and dreams,

(01:27):
and I think that's what's challenging right now in this country,
is that people don't see a future for their children
and grandchildren that was as bright as what they had.
And that's what we're working towards in Congressional District five
in Oregon.

Speaker 1 (01:40):
Do you think that would be the key to Democrats
winning again by focusing on those issues.

Speaker 2 (01:46):
It is absolutely the key, and that's why I say
we shouldn't be distracted by the antics of the Trump administration.
Some of what they're doing is quite dangerous and we
must fight back, but we also need to make sure
that we can keep our true North at the center
of everything that we do, and it is about prosperity,
It is about the future, and it is about having

(02:08):
healthy lives. Even as we sit here today, those are
non negotiables and that's what we should be fighting for.

Speaker 1 (02:15):
I was looking at some of the bills and proposals
that you have put out, and one of them is
to amend the Constitution to include no immunity that no
one for any president.

Speaker 3 (02:29):
Would you talk about that proposal? That bill?

Speaker 2 (02:31):
It's important that our country has a system of checks
and balances that we don't have kings here, and that
is to prevent us from seeing runaway activities that we
see President Trump engaging in now, and it's not just him,
it's the people around him. And so having immunity for
the president and having it be a limited immunity make

(02:56):
sure that everyone's rights are protected and everyone has as
a fair shot in this country. That is something I
think that more Americans are uniting around as we speak now.
They are tired of the antics, they're tired of the recklessness,
and they're also tired of the risk that the president
is injecting into our financial markets, because when you start

(03:17):
messing with people's money, that's when they start losing it.

Speaker 3 (03:21):
Yeah, that's true.

Speaker 1 (03:23):
You also wanted to eliminate the crime emergency that is
now here in DC.

Speaker 2 (03:31):
Talk about that once again, distractions. I'm a kid of DC.
I grew up writing Columbia Heights, and I understand what
it means for us to have home rule. I understand
what it means for us to have agency, and I
don't think treating the District of Columbia like a child

(03:51):
of the government is appropriate. It is anti American, and
it's pitting Americans against Americans.

Speaker 1 (04:01):
One of another proposal you have is the making August
Slavery Remembrance Month. How would that be different than Black
History Month?

Speaker 2 (04:14):
People act like it didn't happen. And when you failed
to acknowledge what has happened, of course you're doomed to
repeat it. And this country was built on a system,
an economic system that built it on the enterprise of
free labor. I put free in quotes, and it wasn't free.

(04:38):
And the moment that we acknowledge that, the moment that
you look at how deep wealth is in some pockets
of the country and how inequality continues to persist, then
you will actually do what I think is the nation's work,
which is to match talent with opportunity.

Speaker 1 (04:58):
This conference, what do you think we should walk away
with and what should we do as a country going forward?

Speaker 2 (05:06):
Well, the theme is made for this moment, right And
when you were a little kid, when you were reading
about the Boston tea Party, nobody ever thought that they
could be that type of patriot that would actually dump
tea in the harbor. But I'm telling you this moment
is now we are all those people who would be
dumping tea in the harbor. And what that means is

(05:27):
it is The moment is summoning us to our best selves.
The moment is summoning us to make sure that we
send our children to school unapologetically. That is patriotism because
we need our children to be educated. We need doctors, lawyers, accountants,
we need them. We need them to back science. We

(05:47):
need people to make sure that they attend rallies and
that they stand up and they make a show in
the streets. We need people to write op eds. We
need people to vote, We need people to donate to
causes and engage in philanthropy. We are all made for
this moment. And if anybody thinks that it is okay

(06:07):
to just go home and cover their head and go
to sleep at night and not engage in what is
happening in this country, they're wrong. They're missing the moment.
But we are made for this moment.

Speaker 3 (06:19):
Excellent, very well said.

Speaker 1 (06:21):
Thank you so much, Congresswoman Janelle Binem from Oregon.

Speaker 3 (06:25):
Thank you so much for your insight.

Speaker 2 (06:28):
Thank you for having me.

Speaker 1 (06:30):
I'm Vanessa Tyler, reporting at the Congressional Black Caucus fifty
fourth Annual Legislative Conference on the Black Information Network.

Speaker 3 (06:37):
You're home for Black News First