Helena Andrews-Dyer - Reclaiming Her Time

FOR ANYONE WHO WAS TOLD

THEY WERE TOO MUCHTOO BLACK,

TOO SKINNY, TOO LOUD, TOO SMART,

TOO STRONG, TOO IN-YOUR-FACE.

TURNS OUT, YOU ARE JUST ENOUGH.

IM HAVING THE TIME OF MY LIFE WITH THE MILLENNIALS.

T here are people squeezed into every available nook and cranny in the K Street bookstore and more performance venue Busboys and Poets. They have spread out all over the main room, overflowed the side room with VIP access, and lined up on the spiral staircase like Von Trapp children, and more are pushing against the glass doors trying to get in. They are hype, tweeting about their location, taking shots for Insta, murmuring excitedly. Most have come from the surrounding area and a few from far-flung destinations; they brought tote bags and T-shirts with the same name on them; they clamor for the buttons that are being given away bearing an iconic face with an iconic expression: red readers, pulled down to reveal an imperious stare. Then the person theyve been waiting for finally emerges, makes her way through the crowd, takes the stage, and declares, Were gonna stop his ass! and the room bursts into rock-concert-level mania. But the crowd that has gathered here in mid-April 2017 isnt swooning over a Billboard-topping recording artist or the star of the latest Marvel movie. The person they came to see is, improbably, a seventy-eight-year-old congresswoman from California.

Maxine Waters is not a celebrity. At least, not in the sense that we usually think of celebrity. Yes, a Maxine reaction GIFof which there are plentywill win any argument; yes, youve seen her on everything from The View to MTV, presenting, Tracee Ellis Ross, yes, there is a wide world of Maxine paraphernalia, from shirts to notebooks to bobbleheads to prayer candles. And no, this is not typical for most politicians. But Maxine Waters, you already know, is not your typical politician. In the game for more than forty years, she has more receipts than a CVS; shes had rousing political successes every decade of her career; she is well respected and accomplished; and, on this spring day in Busboys and Poets, she is using a moment of viral fame to galvanize a new generation of voters and activists. Though the circumstances of the moment are new to her, the impetus behind themmotivating everyday citizens to act, speaking truth to power, and stopping his ass (whomever the dastardly ass in question belongs to)has been part of her work from day one. On this night, shes successfully drumming up support for a rally shell hold the next day to raise awareness about Donald Trumps heretofore unreleased tax returns. Shes flown in that day from Los Angeles, where she had another rally, and will end up being at Busboys and Poets until well after 10 P.M . And she has laryngitis. Maybe she is one of those Marvel superheroes after all.

How did all of this begin? Well, in one view it began with an ad for a Head Start teacher that she answered in the mid-1970s. In another view, it started in the 1990s when she struck a defiant figure, speaking up for the residents of her district during the Los Angeles uprising. Or perhaps it started the day she was assigned to the House Financial Services Committee in 2013, the first step on her road to becoming one of the most powerful politicians (black, female, or otherwise). Or maybe it was in 1992, when she strode into a closed-door meeting held by President George H. W. Bush despite not being invited. Or... well, you get the picture. This may be Maxines moment, but youd be hard-pressed to find a time that wasnt hers also. All time belongs to Maxine Waters, reclaimed or not. Shes known for her brilliant ability to work behind the scenes to get things done, her dogged commitment to her constituents, her flashy style, and, of course, her way with words. And its perhaps this last component that has so captivated her newest fans, after a succession of spicy public statements after the election of Donald Trump raised the congresswomans profile and endeared her to millions. I do say outrageous things sometimes, she conceded with a smile and a small shrug during an interview with Eric. I found out that people love me to say it. And its something that they want to say, or theyve been thinking about, but they just never had the courage to say it. Maxine Waters has always had the courage.

Consider this moment from early 2017, a moment that arguably launched the Modern Maxine Era. It was January 13 in the year of our Lord 2017 when Maxine Waterslegislator, legendhad had enough. Shed just walked out of a classified briefing on the Russia investigation and the press was waiting with questions. Podiums and microphones usually mean press conference, but on this day those silly things were just in the way of Maxines next appointment. Dressed to represent in a black pencil skirt, slingbacks, and red lips, she kicked off the conference like an impatient bank teller who knows you know she knows youre in overdraft. Yes? Can I help you? What do you want? she asked the gathered reporters like they were trick-or-treaters who showed up on November 1. She then took but two questions from reporters before declaring, with frustration, The FBI director has no credibility!

Then she exited stage left down a marble hallway, her heels clickety-clacking, her hand waving along the silent men trailing in her wake. It was, in a word, a moment. A Maxine moment. One of many that have flourished since 2016, when the man she says is the worst shes ever seen got elected president. This was the Maxine Waters the kids were talking about. But that moment in January 2017 wasnt manufactured by consultants with a large marketing budgetnor was it a fluke. Maybe she was just hangry that day? No, that press conference is what happens when a lifetime (yes, fifty years) of public service and a habit of frequently, vociferously speaking ones mind collide in the social media swamp of the twenty-first century, boosted by a reality show president and a divided nation. Its also just another days work for Congresswoman Waters, who stays ready, willing, and able to strap this country to her back and carry it to a better, truer, and more just place.