U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham (left) and incoming U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Mobile (right) will be the first Black U.S. House representatives from Alabama to serve together at the same time. (Left: Courtesy Terri Sewell for Congress; Right: Mike Kittrell for Alabama Reflector)
The 2024 election and a court-ordered redistricting led to this result: next year, Alabama will have two Black U.S. House members serving together, for the first time in history.
Shomari Figures, elected Tuesday night to represent the 2nd Congressional District, will join U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Bimingham, who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2011 and won her eighth term last week .
Figures wrote in a statement Friday that he understood the history of the district and how that history impacted the opportunity to represent the people in it.
“The opportunity for fair representation is an essential element of democracy, as it affords people from different backgrounds an opportunity to make sure their voices are heard and interests represented,” he wrote.