CANDIDATE HOPES TO BRING INVESTMENT BACK TO COMMUNITY
Dr. Stephany Rose Spaulding, author, activist and keynote speaker, is a candidate of the 1st Congressional District. PHOTO PROVIDED BY STEPHANY ROSE SPAULDING
District. She attended Ralph H. Metcalfe Elementary
School and Morgan Park High School. It was during her time at
Clark-Atlanta University that she met a professor who told her
that academia would be a good fit for her.
Spaulding went on to get a Ph.D. in American Studies and
teach in higher education for 12 years. In 2021, in the midst of
the pandemic, she returned to Chicago.
“Being connected to this District, born and raised here,
having family here for multiple generations, I have seen the
ways in which our communities have lost investment, in a lot of
ways, and the suffering it creates for people of our community,”
she said.
Spaulding said she wanted to run for the seat because she
wants to be able to give the investment back to people and the
communities that poured so much into her along her journey.
Her mission is to right some of the wrongs people throughout the
District have been experiencing.
While candidates might talk about their resumes to answer
questions of viability, Spaulding believes having characteristics
of deep empathy for humanity, leadership and consensus building
are necessary to represent communities in Congress.
“There are 400-plus people in the US House of Representatives
that are all trying to advocate for millions of people across
this country. So, if you are not able to listen, to compromise with
integrity, to show up, day after day, it doesn’t matter what your
resume says, it’s the kind of character that you bring to the table.
And, I think I have those qualities,” she said.
Spaulding ran for U.S. Senate and Congress to represent
Colorado. She learned about what it takes to put together a campaign, what it takes to connect one’s personal story to a common story. She learned how to persevere. It was not easy for her to run for that District as an African American woman.
why so many people are disenchanted with government right
now. She has seen what it takes to get people in positions and
in relationship to power and what happens. Ultimately from her
experience, she learned to be secure with herself and in her hope
and her faith in the midst of it.
“If we don’t have folks who are able to see all of the evil
that is happening and still come with a heart of righteousness to
the table, we will continue to get the same kind of leadership that
we’ve had before,” she said.
Spaulding believes the single most important issue in the 1st
Congressional District is equity in resources, equity in investment.
She has seen a change in the way resources are allocated
throughout the district. For example, when it comes to homeownership, education and the quality of life for aging seniors, Spaulding sees a difference in the amount of resources from one part of the district to the other. Spaulding knows it is possible to improve the amount of resources and the process for allocation of resources can be more fair and equitable.
elected officials have to share how they are representing their
constituents. She views listening to residents and having their
concerns at the center of policy making and legislation creation
as necessary for the success of someone in Congress.
role is that if we are not able to navigate relationships beyond
our local political sphere, if we’re not able to communicate the
needs of what we have in Illinois’ 1st District, with folks who are
representing Montana, or folks who are representing Arkansas, if
we can’t coalition build across state lines and interest lines, then
the district is going to suffer,” she said.
her campaign, visit spauldingforcongress.com.
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