When Senators Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland and Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware take their seats on the U.S. Senate floor, their presence marks a profound shift in American political representation. For the first time, two Black women are serving simultaneously in the Senate—each bringing decades of public service experience and distinct policy visions.
“There is something powerful about walking into the chamber and knowing that I am not alone,” says Alsobrooks, who made history as the first woman and first Black person to be elected as a U.S. Senator in Maryland. She and Blunt Rochester have formed a tight bond as “sister senators.”
Alsobrooks also spent 27 years in public service before her 2024 Senate win, including as Maryland’s first domestic violence prosecutor and Prince George’s County’s first Black woman County Executive.
“Every successive generation should do better than the one that came before,” she says. “That’s our assignment—to knock down systemic barriers that prevent our kids from opening any door.” This focus on economic opportunity defines Alsobrooks’s Senate agenda. “We have to continue to work toward social justice, but social justice is amplified by advances in economic prosperity,” she says, explaining her emphasis on access to capital, home ownership and generational wealth.
Blunt Rochester’s background is in labor leadership. She served as Delaware’s Secretary of Labor and as CEO of the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League, and she brings that experience to the Senate. After losing her husband when she was 52, the legislator’s path changed—in a supermarket. “I saw a dad with three kids put back grapes because they were $9, and it just snapped me out of my pain,” she recalls. “It made me recognize that I’m still alive. I can serve.” Despite never having run for office before, she launched a campaign.
Both senators credit ESSENCE for amplifying their voices. “Black media tell our stories in their fullness,” says Alsobrooks. And Blunt Rochester notes, “ESSENCE is a refuge—not just fashion and culture, but the truth.” She observes that Black media understands, in a way mainstream media can miss, how her lived experiences shape her priorities, from maternal health to clean water.
As the sister senators stand on the shoulders of trailblazers like Carol Moseley Braun (1992), Kamala Harris (2016) and Laphonza Butler (2023), both remain focused on creating pathways for others. “Fear is a thief of joy and of your future,” says Blunt Rochester, “so do it afraid.” Adds Alsobrooks, “I want wealth and prosperity to be a realistic expectation for generations to come.”
This story originally appeared in the July/August issue of ESSENCE magazine — our 55th anniversary edition.