The Senate Is About to Have 2 Black Women Serving at the Same Time. That’s Never Happened Before

Mar. 15, 2025

From Left: Lisa Blunt Rochester; and Angela Alsobrooks.Photo:Chip Somodevilla/Getty;  Andrew Harnik/Getty

Chip Somodevilla/Getty;  Andrew Harnik/Getty

History is being made in the Senate.

For the first time in over 200 years, two Black women have been elected to Congress' upper chamber at the same time.

The landmark achievement reflects significant strides in representation and diversity in political leadership.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The senators, who refer to one another as “sister senator,” will become the fourth and fifth Black women to serve in the Senate when they’re sworn in on Jan. 3.

Both Rochester, 62, and Alsobrooks, 53, were surrogates on the Harris campaign, and have long considered the vice president a mentor and friend.

“Now there are some who think our politics are too broken for bright hope. But if you want to see hope, just look. Bright hope is record numbers of Black and brown entrepreneurs starting businesses,” Rochester said at theDemocratic National Conventionin August. “Bright hope is four words: Madam President Kamala Harris.”

“So many people created the opportunities for us to be in the space that we are in …Coretta Scott Kingsaid that freedom is never really won; we have to fight it and win it in every generation,” Alsobrooks previouslytoldELLEabout the importance of her race.

“It’s going to be our responsibility to ensure that we make the kind of impact that allows people from similar backgrounds to have the same opportunity. The housekeepers like [my grandmother] Sarah, the car salesmen like my father, the receptionists like my mother, those people should be able to see themselves in each of us.”

Being elected to the Senate was even more special for Rochester and Alsobrooks because they have each other as “built-in allies.”

“We’re going to be able to do some really big and bold work,” Rochester said. “The history-making part is good, but the impact is what we’re all going for, to make a difference in people’s lives. The ability to go to the Senate and be one of 100—but also as two of only five [Black women senators] in the history of this country.”

source: people.com