Maxine’s Story
Congresswoman Maxine Waters represents California’s 35th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. The district covers a wide swath of South Los Angeles and includes Westchester, Playa del Rey, Inglewood, Hawthorne, Gardena, and Lawndale.
First elected to Congress in 1990, Maxine has worked hard and risen to become a key part of Democratic leadership. She serves on the Judiciary Committee and the Financial Services Committee, where she chairs the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity. She is also a Chief Deputy Whip.
Anyone who knows Maxine will tell you that she is a fighter, always standing up to powerful special interests and looking out for the people she often refers to as “the least of these”. In a public service career that spans over four decades, she can be counted on to stick her neck out and fight for what’s right, often acting as the voice for the voiceless.
Maxine’s community and grassroots organizing skills are unparalleled. Listening to people enables her to know what’s on their minds, and in turn how to mobilize them and create change to better their situations. Women, children, people of color, the poor, the homeless, veterans, students – Maxine has made and staked her name on her willingness and ability to help those who have historically been marginalized in the halls of power.
Maxine Moore Carr was born in St. Louis, Missouri on August 15, 1938, to a single mother who would have 13 children. She grew up in public housing, accessed welfare benefits as a child, and remembers social workers sometimes coming by the house to check up on the family. Maxine began working in a segregated restaurant at age 13 and later worked in a factory.
After graduating high school, Maxine married, had two young children, and moved to Los Angeles. While working as a service representative at the Pacific Phone Company she saw an advertisement for the new Head Start program, part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty, and she was inspired to be a part of this endeavor.
It was as an assistant teacher with Head Start, working with low-income children, spearheading the parental involvement program, and making changes in the community that Maxine really cemented her passion for helping people and wanting to make a difference. She enrolled in California State University – Los Angeles and received her bachelor’s degree. Maxine credits her time with the Head Start program as life-changing, helping her build a foundation for a career dedicated to public service.
A Call to Public Service
She soon began working on the Los Angeles City Council as a top aide, and when a seat in the California State Assembly opened up in 1976, Maxine put her hard work and determination to the test. Many said she could not do it; the powers that be endorsed another candidate and counted her out. But with the assistance of friends and colleagues and with the support of the community that had come to embrace her, Maxine became one of the first African-American women elected to the California State Assembly.
During 14 years in the California State Assembly, she rose to the powerful position of Democratic Caucus Chair. She was responsible for some of the boldest legislation California has ever seen: the largest divestment of state pension funds from South Africa; landmark affirmative action legislation; the nation’s first statewide Child Abuse Prevention Training Program; the prohibition of police strip searches for nonviolent misdemeanors; and the introduction of the nation’s first plant closure law. Maxine’s record of leadership and legislative accomplishments brought her national recognition.
Making a Difference in Congress
In 1990, Maxine ran for a House seat in the U.S. Congress. She won the election overwhelmingly and was sworn into office in January 1991. Starting soon after her arrival in Congress, the nation learned of Maxine’s dedication to her constituents and her interest in explaining to America something it had long forgotten about: the plight of inner-city America. When she was excluded from a White House-level meeting called to discuss the unrest in South Los Angeles following the beating of Rodney King by police, Maxine marched to the White House and demanded to participate, refusing to be overlooked or unheard as the nation’s top politicians — including then-President George H.W. Bush – sought a remedy to the situation.
Thus in just her first term, Maxine established herself in Congress as lawmaker unwilling to back down from an unpopular fight or to accept campaign money from lobbyists to be quiet about an issue. Maxine has stayed true to her image as she has served nine additional terms in Congress.
But her service is much more than a matter of style. She has continued to work hard and fight on behalf of her constituents to make a difference. Among the issues in Congress that are synonymous with Maxine Waters are creating and preserving affordable housing, ending minority health disparities, promoting international peace, enacting debt relief for poor countries, and increasing economic opportunities for women and minorities.
Maxine is running for her 11th term in Congress so she can continue representing her constituents and continue being their voice in Washington, speaking out and speaking up for what’s right, what’s fair, and what’s just.
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