US Rep. Al Green Has Always Been A Gangsta

Supply: Chip Somodevilla / Getty

By now you’ve seen the video of the lone, defiant, Black man holding his strolling stick within the course of President Trump throughout his joint session of Congress tackle. It’s a strong picture shared round social media exhibiting Texas Rep. Al Inexperienced standing up for all who’re set to be victims of cuts to Medicare and Social Safety.

It was a second that outlined the long-winded speech of lies a glitch within the Republican matrix during which somebody from the Democratic occasion truly stood and stated one thing. Earlier than the 77-year-old congressman was escorted out of the Capitol, he took a second to show his consideration to the Republican facet of the aisle to mutter “Disgrace on you.”

And similar to that, Inexperienced was gone, however the second grew to become the discuss of the presidential tackle to Congress. As a result of Al Inexperienced believes, like most of us who voted for something apart from a fascist regime, that this presidency is a sham and deserves the identical respect one would give a scammer.

And right here’s the factor: Al Inexperienced has been a gangsta. In case you have been to lookup “fact to energy” it could be a photograph of Al Inexperienced. And actually, the Democratic occasion needs to be embarrassed. Inexperienced is within the twilight of his profession and shouldn’t have to face with a cane to yell on the president; one other youthful Democrat may’ve carried out that, however some didn’t present up and others have been busy posting dance challenges and social media movies.

Inexperienced has advocated for civil rights for many of his life. He attended Florida A&M College, Howard College, and Tuskegee Institute, and regardless of not receiving levels from these establishments, he would go on to earn a Juris Physician from Thurgood Marshall College of Regulation at Texas Southern College in 1973.

He joined Congress in 2004 and was reelected some 10 occasions. His focus has all the time been on methods to assist poor minorities. Inexperienced is part of the previous regime that features names similar to Reps. Maxine Waters and Sheila Jackson Lee who don’t take into account the job a star standing and imagine in grassroots efforts to assist those that want it most.

Leader Jeffries Holds A Press Conference on Cuts To Veteran Programs

Supply: Kevin Dietsch / Getty

What occurred Tuesday wasn’t Inexperienced grandstanding; it was a second of frustration for a lifelong advocate for individuals who can be immediately affected by Trump’s insurance policies. In truth, it’s what all Democrats ought to have been doing, because the persons are uninterested in watching Trump and his cronies run roughshod over America whereas elected officers proceed to sit down this one out.

For Inexperienced, he’s the voice for the unvoiced. He all the time has been. In 2012, he was arrested in Washington, D.C., outdoors of the Sudanese embassy throughout a protest towards the civil conflict and unrest in Sudan. In 2021, he discovered himself again in jail after protesting the voting rights invoice.

He’s not solely been overtly vocal about Trump’s corruption whereas within the White Home, however he launched “the primary articles of impeachment towards him in 2017 and threatened to do it once more when the president urged a U.S. takeover of Gaza final month,” CBS Information reviews.

He’s the embodiment of John Lewis’ “good bother” and a welcomed disruption to the oligarchy in workplace who has made clear that he has no intention of interesting to anybody throughout the aisle. So the query stays, why was a 77-year-old freedom fighter the one one keen to verify his voice was heard when everybody else simply sat proper there?

As a result of they’re elected officers, however solely one in all them is a gangsta.