Waters, Maxine 1938–

views updated

Maxine Waters 1938–

Politician

At a Glance…

Entered Politics

Sponsored Minority Legislation

Worked on Jesse Jackson’s Campaigns

“The Squeaky Wheel”

Sources

“If you believe in something, you must be prepared to fight. To argue. To persuade. To introduce legislation again and again and again,” stated Maxine Waters in Essence. During the fourteen years that she served in the California State Assembly, Waters earned a reputation as a both a fighter and the most powerful black woman in politics. In 1984 M. Carl Holman, head of the National Urban League, was quoted in Ebony as saying that Waters was “one of the brightest, ablest and most effective legislators without regard to race or sex that I’ve ever seen.” After her 1990 election to the U.S. House of Representatives, Waters moved to Washington ready to continue what she had done in California—champion black issues. In an Essence article entitled “Woman of the House,” Waters reiterated her belief that “too many Black politicians want to be in the mainstream…. My power comes from the fact that I am ready to talk about Black people.”

Born in 1938, Waters was one of thirteen children in a poor family living in a St. Louis housing project. She credits her childhood for what she is today—competitive, outspoken, and determined. “Just getting heard in a family that size is difficult,” she explained in Ebony. Waters’s mother, Velma Moore Carr, struggled to support her family by working intermittently at a series of low-paying jobs augmented by welfare. Waters described her mother in Ebony as “a strong woman, a survivor,” whose determination served as whose determination served as an inspiration to her.

Although Waters’s high school yearbook had predicted that one day she would be the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Waters found that possibility to be extremely remote. After graduating from high school, she married and had two children. In 1960 the family moved to Los Angeles, where Waters worked at a few menial jobs before taking an opportunity to organize a Head Start program in the suburb of Watts. “Head Start made a significant difference in my life,” Waters stated in Essence. “It helped me see how I could help people, and it helped steer me into politics.”

In the late 1960s she entered California State University at Los Angeles to study sociology. By the time she earned her degree, she was divorced and raising her children alone. Waters’s background is frequently cited to explain why she fights so passionately for such issues as education and affirmative action. She explained in Essence: ” I just want

At a Glance…

Born Maxine Carr, August 15, 1938, in St. Louis, MO; daughter of Remus and Velma (Moore) Carr; married husband, Edward (divorced, 1972); married Sidney Williams, July 23, 1977; children: (first marriage) Edward, Karen. Education: California State University, Los Angeles, B.A. Politics: Democrat.

Teacher, Head Start program; member, California State Assembly, 1976-1990; U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC, Democratic congresswoman from California, 1990—. Member of Democratic National Committee; delegate to Democratic National Convention, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, and 1988; Democratic Caucus chair, 1984; member of Rules Committee, 1984; member of National Advisory Committee of Women, 1978—.

Awards: Honorary doctorates from Spelman College and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University; named one of the outstanding leaders at the International Women’s Year Conference in Houston.

Addresses: Office —1207 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515; and 4509 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90037.

to make life better for some people. Everybody deserves a good quality of life. There is too great a divide between the haves and the have-nots, and I believe I can do something to change that.”

Entered Politics

Waters got her start in politics as the chief deputy to Los Angeles city councilman David Cunningham. She managed Councilman Cunningham’s campaigns and was actively involved in the campaigns of Senator Alan Cranston and Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley. She gained a reputation for superb legislative ability and determination. Although her move into state politics was natural, it was also a rough transition. Because some of her colleagues regarded her as a maverick, Waters found all sorts of roadblocks when she arrived at the California State Assembly. Waters told Ebony that the early difficulties she had were a result of “this perception they had of the Black woman coming from Los Angeles who needed to be taught a lesson.”

The first thing Waters did was to take on women’s issues and travel throughout California, organizing and talking to women who had never before heard from a legislator. Waters believes that this experience helped to shape her leadership ability. The Speaker of the Assembly, Willie Brown, Jr., provided support and guidance as Waters learned the system.

Waters was instrumental in the formation of the National Political Congress of Black Women in August of 1984. Born of the frustration of black women leaders, the organization emphasized mainstream electoral politics as a way to focus on what they felt were unique and neglected problems facing women. The organization’s goal was to encourage every black woman in America to become involved in political activity. “It is important that Black women understand that we can seek leadership roles and not lose our identity,” proclaimed Waters in Essence. “We don’t have to do a song and dance because we’re afraid we might alienate others. I’m not interested in making everyone comfortable—some people need to be made uncomfortable. Black women need to feel a sense of our own power.”

Worked on Jesse Jackson’s Campaigns

Waters was Jesse Jackson’s most vocal backer in both the 1984 and 1988 presidential races and was his campaign manager in the latter. When presidential candidate Michael Dukakis chose Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen instead of Jackson as his vice presidential running mate, Waters appeared on ABC’s Nightline declaring that Jackson would break off talks with the Dukakis campaign.

In an article for the Nation, Waters wrote: “That Jackson speaks for large numbers of others as well is one indication that blacks serve as a barometer for the nation…. The Democrats cannot win the presidency without us and without Jackson and others who will work for the party.” In the same article, Waters further addressed what she considered the Democratic party’s lack of commitment to black issues. She wrote of the hopelessness of young black people crowded into inner-city ghettos, not only in Los Angeles but across the nation, and of the “lethal infestation of drugs” in such communities. Waters noted: “An elementary lesson in life is that if people cannot survive in one way they will try another. In an affluent society in which only dollars appear to matter, some young people will find drug-pushing a seductive (or desperate) alternative to low-paying jobs.”

Waters advocated breaking away from the Democratic party and possibly creating a third party that would be responsive to the concerns of blacks and other people of color. In the Nation she commented: “When I look at what is currently happening to the masses of black people, to America’s poor in general and the entire nation, I am angry and frustrated. But we cannot yield to feelings of helplessness; we must transform anger and frustration into bold and direct action…. As for the Democratic Party, it must prove itself in these critical times or stand, like the Republicans, as just another instrument for betrayal and suppression of the people.”

“The Squeaky Wheel”

“That’s the thing about Waters,” remarked Julianne Malveaux in Essence. “She pushes her causes openly. She raises her voice while everyone else whispers. She wears red when everyone else wears gray. She makes a difference.” That Waters has made a difference is evidenced by such programs as Project Build, which she established in her district to provide educational and job training services for residents in six Watts housing projects. Late in 1990 the Maxine Waters Vocational Educational Center was under construction in South Central Los Angeles, a symbol of hope in an area of boarded-up buildings and vacant lots. And in the aftermath of the racially motivated riots that rocked the city in the spring of 1992, Waters was among the first officials on the scene, providing food for the hungry Watts residents and demanding that the Department of Water and Power restore service to the area.

In Washington Waters continues her fight for black interests with the same forcefulness and skill she demonstrated in California. She sees herself as an inspiration to average women, letting them know that if she can succeed, so can they. “People who come from backgrounds like mine are not supposed to serve in the U.S. Congress,” she asserted in Essence. “When a little girl who came out of poverty in St. Louis has an opportunity to serve in Congress, it is like thumbing your nose at the status quo.” From all indications, Waters will be challenging the status quo in Congress for as long as she wants.