Marilyn Strickland Becomes 1st Black and Korean-American U.S. Congresswoman

Former Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland won the open seat in Washington’s 10th Congressional District, besting a fellow Democrat to become the first Black Korean-American woman ever elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as the representative from Washington state.

She is also the first Korean American woman elected to Congress in the country. Strickland was born in Seoul; her father, a veteran of World War II, and the Korean war met her mother while stationed there.

Strickland, a former mayor of Tacoma, will be the first Black person to represent the Pacific Northwest (Washington, Idaho, and Oregon) in Congress and will be the first Korean-American woman ever elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. “It’s a deep sense of pride because, you know, what I’m doing now is making it more commonplace for this to happen,” she said.

“Our campaign was focused on the issues — not labels and partisanship — and I will take that same approach to our nation’s capital,” Strickland said in a written statement Wednesday. “Just as I have always done, I will work with anyone who is willing to work with me to get results.”

Strickland will officially take office on Jan. 3, 2021.