Cori Bush is the first Black woman to ever represent Missouri in Congress; she is also a pastor, nurse, and activist. 

When Bush was scrolling through Facebook one day, she saw a boy’s body laying on the ground, it was Micheal Brown’s, the protests over this sight are what drove Bush to run for Congress. 

While many of the protests turned into violence and looting, Bush said, “There were thousands of people in the street, with a lot of violence happening. I felt like I could offer something to this situation. I was, like, You’re a nurse, you can be a medic. You’re clergy, you can go out and pray with people.” 

The medical-clinic she worked with helped her set up a tent not too far away from Brown’s body and she gave out food, diapers, and financial support. 

“We pitched a tent just a few feet from where Michael Brown’s body had laid on the ground, to do grief-and-trauma work.”

Bush mentioned that back when she was growing up she was also having racist comments made by police.

“I saw countless friends abused by the police, harassed by the police, profiled by the police…” 

Even when Bush was a child she said her father would get pulled over constantly. “..I used to think that he was a horrible driver, and I would get so upset, like, ‘Why won’t you drive right?’ ”  She mentioned that she didn’t ask herself why and if it was right to do this or not because back then she thought it was normal.

Bush mentioned in The New Yorker, she had been sexually assaulted by an officer. “It was, like, O.K., well, maybe I’m doing something wrong. Maybe this skirt isn’t the right skirt. That was the mind-set at that time.”

Then she became an activist. As an activist, she made her voice known in the Black Lives Matter movement. Bush was speaking up about having more Black women to run for Senate. She ran in 2016 against Roy Blunt (Republican), a close second. Bush ran again in 2018 against Lacy Clay, losing again.

With the death of Michael Brown burned into her memory, it had caused a spark to ignite in Bush. She had continued to run. She won in 2020 and became Missouri’s first Black woman in The House of Representatives. 

In congress, she continues to advocate for equal treatment under the law for all people of color.