As someone who is of the culture, it’s easy to see that although our people have become more astute with our local politics, we have largely lost faith in the federal government’s ability to affect substantive change. We can restore our faith by being unafraid to bring our agenda to forefront of government and find practical solutions through progressive legislation. For example, conversations about the necessity of the Crown Act are important to substantive change, where we will protect the naturalness of our hair from job discrimination, or cannabis legalization, or the necessity of reparations, and even conversations about the findings of the Kerner report to implement legislative solutions to the societal ills of the underrepresented, are vital.

With all we’ve been through as a community it’s time that we capitalize on the many moments that we’ve had and turn them into movements of substantive change, through practical, progressive legislation. This movement would be one that endeavors to change our narrative, which is the narrative of economic castration, health disparities, and joblessness. This movement will also be an offshoot of my agenda from my successive terms as Councilman, which would address mass incarceration, income inequality, the miseducation of our youth, and gentrification.
 

My name is Dr. Mark Baker, and I’m running for Congress because it’s time to turn our moments, into a movement for substantive change.