Election night marked a historic day for Black women in politics — particularly Black women in the Senate — despite Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss.

Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester and Angela Alsobrooks have been elected as the fourth and fifth Black women to win a Senate seat. It will be the first time in history that two Black women will serve in the U.S. Senate concurrently.

Milestone for Black Women in the Senate Paves the Way for Improved Representation

“The historic nature of sending two Black women to the U.S. Senate, the first time that we will have Black women serving concurrently, is tremendous,” said Kimberly Peeler-Allen, who is a practitioner at Rutgers University’s Center for American Women and Politics.

With wins from Alsobrooks, Rochester, and House Reps. Nikema Williams, Summer Lee, Shontel Brown, Ilhan Omar, and Jasmine Crockett, Tuesday’s election has already started to expand the ranks of African Americans who successfully sought seats in Congress. As of Wednesday afternoon, Oregon state Rep. Janelle Bynum is also projected to be the first Black person from Oregon sent to Congress.

The new faces could also affect the passage of crucial legislation affecting issues such as health care, reproductive rights, and environmental laws that have a particular relevance to Black communities across the country.

“Even though the Democrats will be in the minority, having them in committee and using their platforms to elevate issues and policy that probably would not have been brought forward, particularly in the way that they will do it as Black women, is something that cannot be understated or undervalued in this moment,” said Peeler-Allen.

Black women are consistently having their work delegitimized, Peeler-Allen said, “because sexism, racism, and misogyny in American politics is like water trying to find a crack.”

“But, Angela [Alsobrooks] and Lisa [Blunt Rochester] And Kamala, despite their outcomes have had to climb to continuously to credentialize themselves, to prove that they have the experience they have, the education, and they have done the work to warrant them being in the room and their commitments to our country.”

Read the full article about Black women's representation in the Senate by Christina Carrega at Capital B News.