Ayanna Pressley

I am black and a woman and unapologetically proud to be both. But I've never asked anyone to vote for me because I'm black and a woman. ”

Thanks to my mother's sacrifices, I was able to attend one of the best schools in Chicago. ”

At some point or another, everyone has felt unseen and unheard and marginalized. ”

I happen to be black and a woman and unapologetically proud to be both, but that is not the totality of my identity. ”

I have been really furious about the constant charges being lobbed against me about identity politics that, by the way, are only lobbed against women and candidates of color. ”

Plans without price tags are simply pandering. ”

When I hear 'politics,' I hear 'relationships.' ”

I've just kept going, like millions of people do every day, because life does not allow them to do anything else. ”

Bad influences and distractions were around every corner. But I also learned that my neighborhood could be a nurturing, positive place to grow up. ”

From drug companies to health insurers to Wall Street banks, big corporations are spending millions to buy influence in Washington and drown out the voices of regular people. ”