Derecka Purnell Interviews Fellow St. Louisan and Movement Activist, U.S. Representative Cori Bush

Derecka Purnell (’17), abolitionist human rights lawyer, organizer, and columnist for The Guardian, interviewed newly elected Representative Cori Bush of Saint Louis, discussing her personal journey from the Ferguson movement to the U.S. House of Representatives, her legislative priorities, and her response to the Capitol Hill riot that occurred just 3 days after swearing-in (“Cori Bush: Can She Bring the Movement for Black Lives to Congress?Teen Vogue, Jan. 19). Representative Bush stated, “The only way you can make change is if you open your mouth and you’re willing to have dialogue and sit with people. . . . What we need to do is put money into mental health. Take money from [police], put it into education, put money into job training programs, to address substance use issues, right? Into our unhoused population. That’s where that money needs to go. You give [police] this money, but then we don’t give money to human services. Put it into our health department!”
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