Rep. Ayanna Pressley: 'This is the Moment'

Racial Injustice March on Washington — Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass. rally at Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington, Friday Aug. 28, 2020, on the 57th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech.

Aidan Connelly is a production assistant on Boston Public Radio. A graduate of Emerson College with a B.A in journalism, his work has appeared on WBUR, KCRW, and The Marketplace Morning Report.

November 02, 2020

Updated August 07, 2023

In a Monday interview on Boston Public Radio, Rep. Ayanna Pressley said lives, livelihoods and American democracy are all on the line ahead of Tuesday’s presidential election.

“And we need to vote like it,” the congresswoman added.

Speaking to GBH, Presseley said she's feeling "encouraged" in the hours before Tuesday's ballot count, but noted that she's advising her supporters and those in her circle not to get comfortable.

"I’ve never been a fan of riding the pollercoaster," she joked. "Everyone just needs to remain focused, head down, disciplined and just [make] sure that folks understand clearly the stakes of this election."

Pressley, who’s been campaigning for former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris, also spoke extensively about why she feels the U.S. is due for a third Reconstruction period, amid voter supression and sustained resistance to police reform, both in Massachusetts and beyond.

"This is still the Civil Rights movement," she said, and called for the former vice president to appoint progressive leaders on his cabinet, should he win.

"This is the moment. I don't know how many more catastrophic, damning, tragic events have to occur to make this case. So I hope that very soon, that we will be in keeping with the progressive bonafides that we proudly assert and tout all the time."

Aidan Connelly is a production assistant on Boston Public Radio. A graduate of Emerson College with a B.A in journalism, his work has appeared on WBUR, KCRW, and The Marketplace Morning Report.