Obama White House Brings Black Women to Power

White House advisers and staff form strong support network
By Gabriel Winant,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 18, 2009 9:11 AM CDT
Obama White House Brings Black Women to Power
United Nations Ambassador-designate Susan Rice listens as President-elect Barack Obama, not pictured, announces his national security team at a news conference in Chicago, Monday, Dec. 1, 2008.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Obama’s administration has brought a cohort of black women to power in Washington, in numbers and at levels never seen before, the Washington Post reports. While in the past, the appointment of a black woman to a senior White House position was met with fanfare, the seven on Team Obama have gotten little collective recognition.

Of course, black women entered the their start in politics earlier, coming up through Jesse Jackson’s campaigns of Bill Clinton’s administration. But in their current numbers, the “Obama women” are a strong support network. “The sisterhood in this town, there's deep history here,” says EPA chief Lisa Jackson.“It's like we have a garden out there, and it's been watered,” adds Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton.
(More Obama administration stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X