Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Joanna McClinton (D-191) hosted a panel in Philadelphia on Thursday to discuss voting rights alongside various state legislative leaders.
The Sept. 10 event — titled “A More Perfect Union: From Independence to Inclusion” — was created to honor the nation’s 250th anniversary. Alongside fellow Democratic lawmakers, McClinton spoke about the evolution of American democracy and criticized policies set forth by the Trump administration.
The panel began with a discussion on the meaning of “We the People,” the opening words to the Preamble to the Constitution.
“It's supposed to mean all of us, but starting at the inception of this country, it did not mean all of us,” McClinton said, adding that “there is no good that comes from rewriting history.”
Carl Heastie, Speaker of the New York State General Assembly, said that the term “has become more inclusive” over time, but that the federal administration was attempting to move the term back into the past.
During the panel, McClinton referenced efforts by the Trump administration to remove a slavery exhibit from Independence National Historic Park.
“When we see the fact that this federal administration, this White House, wants to continuously take out an eraser and say, ‘Oh, that didn't happen, that’s not how it occurred,’ we in this moment have to make sure that we recommit to the promise that is this country,” she said.
McClinton discussed how she distinctly remembered the first time she voted, but that her grandmother did not have that option as it wasn’t legal for her to vote.
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“Knowing that our country now wants to regress and go back to a place where it was not great, where people fought and bled and died for things to change, we have to have some urgency like we’ve never had in the past,” she said.
McClinton also mentioned comments made by State Rep. Morgan Cephas (D-192) in Wednesday’s special convening of the Pa. House of Representatives in Philadelphia.
“One thing this country has been is, in fact — and Rep. Cephas referenced it in her great speech last night — a promise, but one that has lagged,” she said.
The panel then discussed Friday’s 25th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, when two hijacked planes struck the twin towers in New York.
“The first thing you would see is the twin towers to let you know that you were close to home,” Heastie said about the drive to New York before the attacks. “But now as you do it, you see the Freedom Tower. I’d say it’s really become a real day of reflection on what we can do, particularly for the first responders.”
Melissa Minor-Brown (D-17), Speaker of the Delaware House of Representatives, said that the day served as an example of the “importance of equity in mental health care.”
“When I think about not just 9/11, but where we are today, I just once again look at our young people,” she added. “Our young people give me hope.”
The lawmakers also discussed challenges to mail-in voting brought about by the Trump administration ahead of November’s midterm elections. Emanuel Welch (D-7), Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, said that his campaign “decided to invest in mail-in voting” in 2012 — a fact which he attributed to his win.
In the face of the semiquincentennial, McClinton said that lawmakers should “choose a more perfect union, because that is what we are continuing to strive for and work for.”
“As we look at the next 250 years, I want the folks to look back on this generation that existed at this semiquincentennial and say, ‘Oh, they were in the fight. They were engaged. They were resilient,’” she stated.
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Senior reporter Arti Jain leads politics reporting and can be reached at jain@thedp.com. At Penn, she studies economics and political science. Follow her on X @arti_jain_.
