Winsome Sears delivered a moving, patriotic victory speech after she became the first Black woman elected to a Virginia statewide office, reminding us why we love America – be warned, this might cause tears!
Winsome Sears, first Black woman elected to Virginia statewide office, gives incredible speech
Republican Winsome Sears became the first Black woman elected to a statewide office in Virginia, as she became the Lieutenant Governor-elect on Tuesday.
In her moving victory speech, she praised the opportunities that were available for her and her family in America, when they arrived from Jamaica when she was only six years old. Sears said she was living “the American dream,” the Daily Wire reported.
“When I joined the Marine Corps, I was still a Jamaican,” Sears said during her victory speech. “But this country had done so much for me, I was willing, willing, to die for this country.”
Sears then went on to lead the crowd into a “USA” chant.
Prior to entering politics, Sears was the director of a Salvation Army homeless shelter. She previously served as vice president of the Virginia Board of Education and served a single term in Virginia’s House of Delegates from 2002 to 2004. She also owns an appliance and plumbing repair store in Virginia, Fox reported.
Only 10 Black women have held statewide offices in history
For the record, according to a report by NPR station WAMU: “Just 10 Black women in the U.S. have ever held statewide office.”
“What you are looking at is the American dream,” said Sears, a former US Marine, NPR reported. “I didn’t run to make history. I ran to leave it better than I found it … Help is on the way.”
Sears speaks against division in US
“I say to you, there are some who want to divide us and we must not let that happen,” Sears said. “They would like us to believe we are back in 1963, when my father came. We can live wherever we want, we can eat where we want – we own the water fountains.”
“We have had a black president elected – not once but twice – and here I am living proof,” Sears continued. “In case you haven’t noticed, I am black and I have been black all my life – But that’s not what this is about.”
Sears: “Education will lift us all”
“What we are going to do is we are going to now be about the business of the Commonwealth,” Sears declared. “We have things to attend to, we are going to fully fund our historically Black colleges and universities.”
“We’re gonna have safer neighborhoods, safer communities, and our children are going to get a good education,” Sears continued, “because education lifted my father out of poverty, education lifted me out of poverty, education will lift us all out of poverty.”
“We must have marketable skills so that our children can not just survive, but they will thrive, and they recreate generational wealth,” Sears added. “That’s what this is about.”
