WASHINGTON — Everton Blair Jr. has been attending events tied to the Congressional Black Caucus’ Annual Legislative Conference for more than a decade.
But this year’s festivities were different. The Lilburn Democrat went from being a person in the crowd to one of the lawmakers being celebrated and honored throughout the week.
Members of the LGBTQ community honored Blair, Georgia’s first openly gay member of Congress, during a party Tuesday night and then again at a second one on Friday.
The American-born child of Jamaican immigrants, he co-hosted an event with Congress’ two other Caribbean American lawmakers on Thursday.
And on Saturday, Blair, 34, found himself sharing the stage with some of the caucus’ youngest members at an event all about cultivating the next generation of Democratic leaders.
By that time, the new congressman was using one word to sum up the week: “Electric.”
“It’s been back to back to back, nonstop,” he said. “A lot of energy and, honestly, a lot of joy.”
Blair was sworn in on Sept. 1 to complete the term of late U.S. Rep. David Scott, who died in April. He will serve through the end of the year.
Once he was sworn in, Blair took office with this unique profile: a young, Black, gay son of the Deep South and one of the few members of Congress whose parents are immigrants.
Those accolades were repeated often as Blair was introduced at various receptions and parties. Although a part of him is proud to break barriers, there was also a part of him that began to bristle at the repeated mentions of him being “one of the only” or “the first.”
“It should just be normalized for people of all diverse backgrounds and different identities to be celebrated, and for it to be expected that we can lead,” he said. “There’s a lot of different ways to slice my intersections, but oftentimes it is still the case that I am some sort of first with everything that I’ve done politically, and to me that just means we got a lot more work to do.”
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
Blair didn’t run on his identity as a Black gay man whose parents are from Jamaica. If anything, he campaigned on his youth and advocated for generational change during the Democratic primary challenge before Scott died and changed the nature of the race to an open seat.
Jasmine Clark finished first in that primary. If she wins the heavily Democratic district in November, she will succeed Blair and serve a full two-year term starting in January.
Blair pushed through his disappointment from his primary loss and competed in the special election to complete Scott’s term. He was the only person who chose to run for both.
He said he has high hopes for what he will be able to accomplish in a short time. And during his speeches throughout what is often referred to as CBC Week, he told audiences that the celebrations and panel discussions should be laying the groundwork for a final push to get Democrats elected in November.
But he could not ignore that many of the people who once stood alongside him now felt intense pride at seeing him among the lawmakers on stage.
Deon Jones, a longtime friend of Blair, introduced him as an honoree during the Tuesday event hosted by two Black LGBTQ+ political organizations, the Hamilton Foundation and the Bayard Baldwin Institute, and held at the Human Rights Campaign headquarters.
Jones, who lives in New Orleans, said Blair’s election is worth celebrating as a symbol of progress, especially since he represents a state of the Deep South.
“The South is a place where Black queer people have always lived, have always led, always created, always fought, and even when the story didn’t write us in it,” he said. “Even when nobody said, ‘Thank you,’ we know what we built. And that is why Congressman Everton Blair’s election means so much to me.”
Credit: Tia Mitchell
Credit: Tia Mitchell
Similar words were spoken about Blair repeatedly. He received hugs and kisses from friends, handshakes from admirers. Very few of them used his title, preferring to shout “Everton!” from across the room.
Blair often responded with his signature wide smile. He doesn’t mind that people still call him by his first name and that everyone has his personal number and is using it to call in favors with the new congressman.
Perhaps no one can relate more than U.S. Rep. Christian Menefee, D-Texas, who is the second-most junior member of the CBC now that Blair has been sworn in.
Menefee said Blair has made it clear that he plans to make an impact during his brief tenure, as exemplified by his assignment to the powerful House Financial Services Committee. Menefee joked that even he did not receive such a plum assignment.
“Rep. Blair has told me that he’s focused on being a bridge for a community that has been without representation for several months now since the passing of Mr. Scott,” Menefee said. “So, he’s working to ramp up constituent services, and he’s even said this explicitly to be a bridge to incoming Rep. Jasmine Clark.”
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Although Clark and Blair were once primary rivals, they now must communicate as the incumbent and presumptive representative-to-be. Despite some early speculation, Blair said he is not considering future primary challenges to Clark.
“I plan to work with her and collaborate so she can do the best job for all of us,” he said.
He said he is open to running for office again once his term ends, although he doesn’t have anything lined up. Instead, he is keeping his options open while he focuses on the job at hand.
“I’m only 34. Who knows what the future holds?” he said. “I’ll do what I can with what I’ve got, to the extent it’s helpful and not about me.”
U.S. Rep. Everton Blair Jr.
Nickname: “EJ”
Age: 34
Hometown: Lilburn
Party: Democrat
Prior elected office: He became the first person of color elected to the Gwinnett County School Board, serving one four-year term, including a yearlong stint as board chair
Education: Doctor of education leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, master’s degree in policy from Stanford University, bachelor’s degree in applied math from Harvard College
Early career: Blair had a fellowship during the Obama administration as a participant in the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence. He also taught in Atlanta for two years through Teach for America.
Congressional info: Blair is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, considered the most liberal House Democrats. He serves on the Financial Services Committee. He recently launched a federal political committee to recruit and support like-minded candidates.
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