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Vineyarders filled Union Chapel Saturday afternoon for the third annual Juneteenth Jubilee Cultural Festival, attending conversations with Representative Ayanna Pressley and former NASA Administrator Charles Boden, as well as artists and a culinary historian.

Kahina Van Dyke, event founder, summer Oak Bluffs resident, and financial technology executive, welcomed the crowd and introduced guests.

The chapel audience also kicked off the jubilee with a standing rendition of Lift Every Voice and Sing, led by ToriTori, Boston Music Awards 2023 R&B Artist of the Year.

Pressley, in conversation with Van Dyke, spoke at length about serving as a Black woman in Congress she is Massachusetts first Black representative and warned against dangers to democracy in the United States.

Speaking first about her early experiences with politics, Pressley recalled being exposed to policy issues at a young age through her mothers struggles with health care and fair pay. I knew my mother as a woman first, she said. Someone whose traumas were unhealed, someone who was gaslit by our health care system and her pain delegitimized and questioned, someone who was not paid according to her work.

When Van Dyke asked Pressley whether the nations democratic institutions and processes were endangered, the representative answered Absolutely.

Pressley highlighted recent Supreme Court decisions including the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and a challenging five years in office that included a government shutdown, two impeachments, an insurrection and a global pandemic.

Speaking about the Supreme Court, Pressley supported term limits, investigations of impropriety and a code of ethics for justices, as well as adding seats to the court.

She also dedicated a large portion of her appearance to discussing Project 2025, a collection of policy proposals from conservatives intended for a second Trump presidency.

The proposals, organized by the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank and written in part by multiple Trump administration officials, include recruiting conservatives to replace federal civil servants, increasing the presidents power over the executive branch, abolishing the Department of Education, and cutting funding for climate research.

Pressley, who herself serves on the recently formed Congressional Stop 2025 Task Force, noted the projects funding by major conservative donors such as Leonard Leo, and added that many on the far right seek to put loyalists in positions of power and to ban books. They want to ban words from all federal policies, like diversity, equity, and inclusion, abortion, she told the chapel crowd. They dont make threats. They make promises.

When asked what individuals concerned about democracy should do, Pressley first recommended voting in every election.

We know what legislative hurt and harm looks like. But we cannot legislate to actually heal an injustice if you dont vote. So voting is an act of self-care, she said, adding that, I would encourage people to take the personalities out of it and focus on the policy.

The policies determine who lives. The policies determine who dies. The policies determine who survives. The policies determine who thrives, Pressley told attendees.

Pressley, known for being a left-wing member of Congress, also addressed negative press coverage she has received while in office, comparing it to her experience as a Black woman. When people ask What is it like to be targeted and surveyed? and all of these things that I experience just because I hold the title of Congresswoman, I didnt stop being a Black woman How I show up is disruptive to people who cannot handle the light of this melanated bald crown.

It is what it is, she added. They get nervous, sis.

Pressley also supported abolishing the filibuster, and recommended that people donate to organizations like the ACLU that combat political misinformation.

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Rep. Pressley addresses threats to democracy at Juneteenth celebration - Martha's Vineyard Times

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