Congressman-elect Everton Blair reflects on making Black LGBTQ history in the South
TheGrio...
The 34-year-old Georgia Democrat tells theGrio he plans to use his four months in Congress to fight for working people and bring new energy to the Congressional Black Caucus.
After winning the special election in Georgia’s 13th Congressional District on Tuesday, Everton Blair has made Black and LGBTQ history in the Peach State and the U.S. South.
Blair, a 34-year-old Harvard and Stanford-educated former school board member, will now become only the third openly gay Black person elected to Congress. He is also the first Black LGBTQ member from the South and the first LGBTQ person ever elected in Georgia, a state that has slowly drifted more Democratic as a result of high turnout of Black voters in Atlanta. Blair’s 13th District sits just outside of the Atlanta metro area.
Reflecting on the history he just made, the Congressman-elect tells theGrio that while he centered his campaign and leadership on “the issues impacting our community,” he has “never denied who I am or aspects of my identity that create opportunities to be a role model and to open up doors for people who have not seen themselves visibly reflected in leadership and to take pride in that.”
“I appreciate the opportunity to do both,” said Blair.
Everton Blair’s historic election expands Black LGBTQ representation in Congress at a time when President Donald Trump and his administration have waged culture wars on DEI and trans identity.
He tells theGrio, “We have to be vigilant of Republican attempts to have us be mired in culture wars…they are distracting us. And at the end of the day, we can’t let up on our bigger priorities, and we need to make sure that we’re not leaving anybody behind. People are hurting way, way too much right now.”
As a young progressive from the South, Blair also wants to bring a new energy of “forward thinking and community engagement” to the Democratic Caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Congressional Black Caucus.
“I want to add value. I see a lot of opportunity for us to expand the diversity of the Black Caucus. And I appreciate that, as one of the youngest members in the caucus, I’ll be able to communicate effectively to other young people on the mediums that we’re using more often,” the congressman-elect tells theGrio.
He added, “I want us to do more. And I want it to be able to reach more people and bring more ideas in and be more willing to embrace progressive ideas and do so in a way that gives people more confidence in our ability to lead.”
Former Congressman Mondaire Jones, who, along with U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, made history in the 2020 election as the first openly gay Black person elected to Congress, praised Blair as the right leader for the moment. He told theGrio, “Everton Blair is an inspiration to the LGBTQ community, and to young people everywhere.”
“His accomplishments and qualifications at such a young age, even prior to being elected to Congress, are significant and should not be glossed over in the conversation about the important history he is making as only the third openly gay, Black person ever elected to Congress,” said Jones. “I am so proud of my friend, and I was glad to support his campaign.”
While his election has made history, Blair’s time in Congress will be short-lived. He is serving out the remainder of U.S. Rep. David Scott’s term in Congress after Scott’s death in April. Blair, who defeated former Rep. Scott’s daughter, Marcye Scott, in Tuesday’s special election, had also run for the Democratic nomination to represent Georgia’s 13th Congressional District in the next Congress for a two-year term, but was defeated by Georgia State Rep. Jasmine Clark in the May 19 primary election.
However, Blair says he intends to make the best of his four months in office until the next Congress is sworn in on Jan. 3, 2027.
“I will have a vote that impacts every single person in this country. And so there’s no amount of time served in this seat that is too small or too insignificant to make a difference and to be fighting,” he told theGrio. “Donald Trump was able to gut whole agencies in a matter of days. He imposes tariffs back-to-back like it’s ping pong. He’s constantly taking us in and out of war.”
Blair continued, “The future is so uncertain and tumultuous under this current president that we need champions who will communicate effectively and who will stand up against the tyranny that’s being wrought on our communities…I think that my leadership will be seen and more is to come.”
Looking ahead, Congressman-elect Blair is laser-focused on what he believes should be House Democrats’ agenda in the final months of the 119th Congress.
“We need to end this war, we need to get rid of these tariffs that people have been paying too much,” said Blair, who is demanding that working people get a refund check for President Trump’s “illegal” tariffs that he was ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court to pay back to companies.
The Georgia lawmaker, who will be sworn in within days, said Congress must also “get a hold on this economic structure” by raising taxes on wealthy people and corporations.
“I just think that there’s too much at stake for us to not be holding the line on those issues and making this president do better and making this Congress fight harder for people that are doing everything right and continuing to struggle,” said Blair.
Reflecting on the truncated time he has in office, Blair told theGrio, “I recognize the opportunity. I don’t take it lightly and I’m really proud that we earned the seat. One thing nobody can say is that it was given to us. It was very, very hard-won and hard-fought.”
He added, “I’m excited to continue to prove to people with the results of my leadership and the efforts of our work in the office how much we needed this.”