美国国家公共电台 NPR Bangor, Maine's New Council Member Joins Wave Of Women Of Color Winning Office

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

A woman named Angela Okafor has made history in the small city of Bangor, Maine. Okafor is an attorney and a small-business owner, and now she's something else, too. She's the first immigrant and the first person of color elected as a city councilor in Bangor. Maine Public Radio's Robbie Feinberg sent us this.

ANGELA OKAFOR: (Non-English language spoken).

ROBBIE FEINBERG, BYLINE¹: Inside her small shop in downtown Bangor, Angela Okafor is chatting with a local mom as she braids her hair. A few feet from the styling chair, Okafor's young daughter glides² on a scooter through shelves of international foods and spices. Racks of African clothing sewn by Okafor line the wall. It's a busy place, she says, and one that the city's small immigrant population seeks out for food and connection.

OKAFOR: I have bikes here. I have jumping ropes. I have Play-Doh, you know? People come here to shop with their kids. Kids are riding bikes. I mean, it's a community, so why not?

FEINBERG: A shop like this didn't exist when Okafor and her husband moved to Maine from Nigeria about a dozen years ago on a work visa. Like most of the state, Bangor is overwhelmingly white, and Okafor says the adjustment was hard. People couldn't understand her and would often stop and stare. And despite holding a law degree from her home country and passing the New York bar exam, Okafor says it was nearly impossible to get any job in the legal field. Employers told her she was either overqualified or said she needed, quote, "Maine experience."

OKAFOR: Being frustrated³ is beyond the description. I feel free to talk this now because I am my own employer, but imagine a lot of other people who go through that but cannot speak up.

FEINBERG: So Okafor took things into her own hands. Three years ago, she launched an immigration law practice, which she could operate with her out-of-state license⁴ because of its basis in federal law. She then opened her international food store and hair salon⁵ to provide needed services to Bangor's immigrant community. But she wasn't done. Earlier this year, after seeing other immigrants bring their concerns to local leaders who were all white, Okafor realized they needed representation.

OKAFOR: And, you know, who better to do that? I'm like, someone needs to do that. And at some point, I'm like, why not me?

FEINBERG: So Okafor got into the race for city council. And last month, she won handily, becoming the first immigrant and person of color elected in Bangor's history. City Council chair Clare Davitt says that Okafor will bring a needed perspective to city leadership.

CLARE DAVITT: And then to have her knowledge of law and as a small-business owner, that representation matters so much, especially as we are losing workforce⁶ and trying to rebuild that.

FEINBERG: Okafor is one of dozens of women of color nationwide who have jumped into politics in recent years. Kimberly Peeler-Allen is a visiting practitioner⁷ at Rutgers University who founded Higher Heights, a national nonprofit to elect black women to office. She says her organization identified about 90 black women running for federal and statewide executive office in the 2018 cycle. Already, they know there are more than that in 2020. And with months left to go until the filing deadlines in several states, she says those numbers could easily keep climbing.

Peeler-Allen partially⁸ attributes the shift to the national prominence⁹ of candidates like Kamala Harris as well as dissatisfaction with current leaders, particularly at the federal level.

KIMBERLY PEELER-ALLEN: So it is really propelling more women to say, what else can I do, and how can I engage at a deeper level? And, I'm not happy with my current elected leadership, so I think I could do a better job. And they're throwing their hat in the ring.

OKAFOR: Toss. Careful.

FEINBERG: Between customers in her small shop in Bangor, Angela Okafor says she feels grateful for the newfound prominence in her city after years of overcoming barriers.

OKAFOR: For me, this is - you know, I grew up struggling. I struggled a lot growing up. So right now, I feel privileged. I feel - I'm very religious. I feel blessed.

FEINBERG: And while she's still learning the ins and outs of her new role on the Bangor City Council, Okafor says she wants to focus on improving public transportation, which she says has long affected¹⁰ families and small businesses. Now Okafor says she's in a position where she can make a difference.

For NPR News, I'm Robbie Feinberg in Bangor, Maine.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 glides   

n.滑行( glide的名词复数 )；滑音；音渡；过渡音v.滑动( glide的第三人称单数 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔

参考例句：

• The new dance consists of a series of glides. 这种新舞蹈中有一连串的滑步。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The stately swan glides gracefully on the pond. 天鹅在池面上优美地游动。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

5 salon   

n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室

参考例句：

• Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗？
• You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。

6 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

7 practitioner   

n.实践者，从事者；(医生或律师等)开业者

参考例句：

• He is an unqualified practitioner of law.他是个无资格的律师。
• She was a medical practitioner before she entered politics.从政前她是个开业医生。

8 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

9 prominence   

n.突出；显著；杰出；重要

参考例句：

• He came to prominence during the World Cup in Italy.他在意大利的世界杯赛中声名鹊起。
• This young fashion designer is rising to prominence.这位年轻的时装设计师的声望越来越高。

10 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。