Welcoming the Honorable Jennifer L. McClellan to the House of Representatives

Floor Speech

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Mrs. McCLELLAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Scott for his introduction. I also thank the Members of the Virginia delegation, and my new colleagues.

I rise as the newest Member of Virginia's Fourth Congressional District and the first African-American woman elected to this body from the Commonwealth of Virginia. I thank the voters of the Fourth Congressional District for placing their trust in me to serve in this, the people's House.

Today, I succeed, but can never replace, A. Donald McEachin, who was a friend, mentor, and colleague whom I served with in the Virginia House of Delegates and succeeded in the Senate in Virginia. I stand on his shoulders. I stand on the shoulders of John Mercer Langston, the first African American to represent Virginia, also from the Fourth District.

Mr. Speaker, I did not make this journey alone, and I thank my friends, family, and supporters who have supported me along the way.

First and foremost, I thank my husband, David Mills. I thank my son, Jackson, who is excited to show off his dance moves, and my daughter, Samantha.

I thank my mother, Lois McClellan. She will be the first to tell you that she is half responsible for me. She and my late father, Dr. James F. McClellan, Jr.--on whose Bible I took the oath of office--are why I am here.

I grew up listening to their stories of their childhood during the Depression, coming of age during World War II and its aftermath, and raising a family through the tumult of the 1960s and 1970s. They saw the best of government in the New Deal. They saw the worst of government in Jim Crow.

Their stories and the love of history that they sparked in me taught me at a young age that at its best, government is a force for helping people and solving problems. At its worst, government is a force that oppresses some for the benefit of a few.

Their stories sparked a desire to dedicate myself to making a government by, of, and for the people actually work for the people, solving problems and making their lives and communities better.

That desire led me to serve in the Virginia General Assembly for 18 sessions where, as the daughter and granddaughter of men who paid poll taxes and the great-granddaughter of a man who took a literacy test and had to find three White men to vouch for him to be able to vote, I was able to pass over 370 pieces of legislation, including the Voting Rights Act of Virginia.

I stand on the shoulders of my parents, grandparents, and great- grandparents, recognizing that in a lot of ways I am fighting the same fights that they did, and I stand here to ensure that my children and yours don't have to fight those same fights.

I am honored, humbled, and excited to get to work with you for the people of Virginia's Fourth Congressional District and this great Nation of ours.

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