Top 100 Quotes & Sayings by Cori Bush

St. Louis sent me to Congress to save lives.

An act of Congress could abolish the federal death penalty once and for all, and my sister in service, Representative Ayanna Pressley, has introduced a bill that would do just that.

I decided to run for office because I've seen that elected officials would rather let us suffer than put in the work to actually fight for us.

Politicians aren't leading us. Nurses are. Doctors are. Teachers are. Activists are.

There is no place for the death penalty in a just, humane society.

We must invest in affordable housing, quality education, safe parks and green space, good paying jobs, comprehensive mental health and trauma services, and other supports that will help all of our people.

White supremacy is deeply entrenched in our nation's DNA.

Freedom cannot be a responsibility that only belongs to some of us.

Eradicating violence of every kind in this country is a fight that requires a commitment from every single person.

I was evicted because of the violence a former partner committed against me and believe no person should lose housing due to crimes committed against them by abusers.

Too many of our immigrant communities have been forced to live in fear, uncertain about their futures.

One of the most important lessons that I learned in Ferguson was that in a true movement, everyone leads in some way. We need leaders with a shared vision, yes - but with a whole spectrum of skills, in every possible field.

Leading from a place of hate only fuels hateful and violent acts across our country.

The unhoused crisis in our country is a public health emergency, and a moral and policy failure at every level of our government.

If we want to build communities that are safe, we have to address the root causes of violence.

Being unhoused in America must no longer be viewed as an individual shortcoming, but rather as an unacceptable, life-threatening policy failure.

Leading with love starts with what we say, the words we use and the meaning behind them.

The Violence Against Women Act is personal to me because I know the programs and services it funds are lifesaving.

The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis's Head Start Program provides child development and comprehensive wellness services in a safe and nurturing environment. The program is a pillar of our community in Missouri's First District.

We faced police dogs when we fought for justice for Mike Brown in Ferguson in 2014.

White nationalist groups have infiltrated federal and local law enforcement agencies.

As lawmakers, we have a duty to protect the people we represent.

I dreamed of being a nurse because I wanted to tangibly help the people I saw every day.

I believe that nothing stops a bullet like opportunity.

The death penalty is an inhumane punishment that disproportionately violates the human rights of Black, brown, indigenous, and other marginalized people.

Constituent service is about meeting our neighbors where they are.

By expanding the legal authority of law enforcement agencies - without addressing the infiltration of white supremacy within law enforcement - we are expanding the capacity of white supremacy itself.

When I was living out of my car, I did not know where we were going to eat, use the bathroom, rest or enjoy a quiet moment. I used McDonald's bathrooms to mix baby formula and wash my body because I had no other options.

Many unhoused people work full time but earn starvation, unlivable wages. Some struggle to access mental health services or substance use treatment, making earning a consistent and stable wage nearly impossible.

Radioactive waste in Coldwater Creek has caused a level of devastation that would be unfathomable if it weren't our reality. Our communities have seen hundreds of our neighbors sickened with rare cancers. Animals, birds, and insects have dropped dead in our neighborhoods.

I've lived out of my car for months with my two babies. I've seen my belongings in trash bags along my backseat.

When our community is under-represented, its people don't receive the resources and attention they need to thrive.

Words can build up communities or break them down.

My children almost died during my pregnancy because doctors wouldn't take my concerns seriously, dismissing me as just another black woman on Medicaid.

I'm running for Congress to represent Missouri's 1st because we need leadership that is truly invested in helping us become stronger and safer. I'm running because I have a commitment to every member of my community.

Ensuring every child in St. Louis has access to quality early childhood education that will set them up for future success is fundamental to creating a more equitable St. Louis.

As a nurse, I've seen firsthand the harmful effects of patients not being able to afford their lifesaving medications.

Decades of racist, dehumanizing immigration policies have created systems that have criminalized and traumatized our immigrant neighbors, friends, and families in St. Louis and across our country.

As a nurse, I earned around 60% of what my white male counterparts in the same position earned.

Our broken immigration system has left too many people uncertain of whether they could be torn away from their homes, forced to leave their families, their communities, and their dreams behind.

It is past time for the federal government to establish an Unhoused Bill of Rights and make the desperately needed investments to guarantee housing, health care, and a robust social safety net for our unhoused neighbors.

We must work to build a criminal-legal system that is deeply rooted in a love for humanity, which begins with ending the federal death penalty in our country.

Dr. Henry Givens, Jr. led Harris-Stowe State University for 32 years. His leadership transformed Harris-Stowe, the university I attended, from a small college with just one building into the nationally acclaimed HBCU that it is today.

We have a deeply rooted misconception in our country that unhoused people have done something to deserve their conditions - when the reality is that unhoused people are living the consequences of our government's failure to secure the basic necessities people need to survive.

My hometown has been devastated by a lack of access to trauma prevention and mental health services.

Black and brown people in communities like mine, when arrested are more likely to be convicted and receive harsher sentences than our white counterparts. A justice system that actually hands out justice isn't as cruel, violent and racially biased as the one we've got.

I have had patients die because of lack of insurance.

While I cannot speak on behalf of the AAPI community, I do want to say that I stand in solidarity with you.

The people of Missouri's First District elected a Ferguson-made activist to the House and I have brought the same energy from the frontlines of Ferguson to the halls of Congress.

My skin burned for 22 hours after I was pepper-sprayed.

Every time that I speak on the House Floor or in one of our committee hearings, I begin with the words, 'St. Louis and I.' Every time. That is no accident.

We are committed to ensuring that immigration is not further criminalized and that all immigrants are treated with dignity and provided with a path to citizenship.

We cannot equate white nationalist violence with what my colleagues on the right stated is 'left-wing extremist violence.' Equating a righteous movement for justice with hateful and racist white nationalism is outright ignorant and disingenuous on your part.

There's some experiences you can't get in Congress. You don't learn what it's like to turn patients away because they're uninsured, or be passed over in the waiting room because you're on Medicaid.

Racism is not just slavery and Jim Crow. It is the daily violence that is enacted on our communities each and every day we live in this White supremacist society.

Housing is a human right, not a bargaining chip to let fall between bureaucratic cracks.

We cannot denounce white supremacy and allow its endorsers to continue serving in our government.

I'm so proud of each and every student who shared their artistic talents with us as part of the 2021 Congressional Art Competition.

Joe Biden cannot leave the lives of those on death row in the hands of future presidents. If he truly opposes the death penalty, he must do everything in his power to stop it for good.

St. Louis and communities across the nation need the Green New Deal for Cities.