Omid Memarian, a journalist, analyst and recipient of Human Rights Watch's Human Rights Defender Award, is the Director of Communications at DAWN.
"The fact that there are people right now on this planet who have made the decision to fight for people, to stand up for humanity, regardless of what it costs—that we haven't backed down. People are working together who weren't building together before. People have realized the interconnectedness of so many issues and are standing up for one another. That gives me hope," former Congresswoman Cori Bush concludes when asked about what gives her hope amid today's difficult and interconnected issues.
In a sweeping interview with Democracy in Exile, Bush discusses her time in Congress, including the issues and moments that inspired her activism and eventual dive into electoral politics. She highlights the importance of people at the center of policy, whether that be solidarity between different groups against repression or the importance of informing voters about foreign policy issues like Palestine. She tellingly connects limited solidarity with such issues to money in politics and the importance of fighting back against misinformation. Bush eloquently highlights the faults within today's Democratic Party, arguing that she "wanted to be the one that would stand up and fight." A theme across her interviews and years of activism, she centralizes the importance of continuing to fight, especially in today's climate of repression and genocide.
Bush is a progressive activist and former Congresswoman who represented Missouri's St. Louis City (MO-1) between 2021-2025. She currently hosts a weekly show titled "Bowman and Bush" alongside former Congressman Jamaal Bowman for Zeteo. She is the author of The Forerunner: A Story of Pain and Perseverance in America, a memoir of her personal journey to the US Congress. She holds a diploma in Nursing from the Lutheran School of Nursing, which she obtained in 2008.
In a stark moment during the interview, Bush relayed her principled stance on Gaza that produced strong pushback across the political spectrum at the time. "I knew that there would be rough days. I knew that people were going to be upset with us. But why be in the seat if you're not willing to fight for what's right? If you're not willing to lose something? All I lost was a seat in Congress. I didn't lose my voice. I didn't lose my name. I didn't lose my heart. I didn't lose my fight. The only thing I lost was a seat—a door with my name on it—that I can run for again if I want to."
The following transcript has been edited lightly for clarity and length.
Reflecting on your time in Congress, what have been the most profound lessons you have drawn from serving in this position of power, particularly as a Black woman?
One lesson is to stay true to your authentic self. So often, people think that they're going to be strong, they're going to hold the line and they're pushing for certain issues and values. They have a particular agenda when they run for office, but especially Congress. But if you have not been tried, or gone through some type of testing, where your values have been put to the test against big money or threats, it can be easier for some folks not to hold their values.
I've learned that people want elected officials to be who they said they would be. If this was who you said you were going to be on the campaign trail, then this is who you should be in the seat, unless you evolve into an even better person, having even stronger values that help people and help communities.
So that's one thing I just saw very early. People shrink in the face of big money. And people would say to me, "Cori, on various issues, I believe what you believe. I support what you're doing, but I can't be public about it because I don't want to go through the attacks that you're going through. I don't want to lose my donors." And people legislate that way. People govern from a place of "I'm afraid to be who I am because I care more about holding onto my seat." This is what we saw when Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and I introduced the Ceasefire Now resolution in October 2023. It's what I saw working on the eviction moratorium in 2021 and several other areas.
"People shrink in the face of big money. And people would say to me, 'Cori, on various issues, I believe what you believe. I support what you're doing, but I can't be public about it because I don't want to go through the attacks that you're going through. I don't want to lose my donors.
- Cori Bush
You were very involved in the protests following the police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Why did you become involved and how did that experience affect your views? And you've also spoken in the past about the involvement and support from Palestinian activists in those Ferguson protests. Can you tell us about that too?
I immediately decided that I wanted to be a part of the Ferguson protests from the beginning. The day Michael Brown was killed, I kept seeing this picture of this young man laid out on the ground on my social media timeline. And I remember, I kept scrolling past it. I didn't really believe the photo at first. Then I started to see live streams of people showing up, and people starting to show their outrage. And by that night, there was a full-on protest. So, I wanted to go because, once I found out what happened, I wanted to be out there. That's my community. I only lived six minutes away.
But by that next morning, I knew that, even if I couldn't find someone to go with me, I was going out there. I had to go out. And one thing that my family taught me—my parents—was that a closed mouth does not get fed. You have to fight and stand up for your beliefs, even if you have to put your body on the line. My father showed me that. He was that example for me, even though I didn't understand it as a child. It showed up later in me in this moment. So, I took to the streets.
I initially was out there during the day as a nurse. I asked my job if we could put a mobile van out on the street to help people who were dealing with grief and trauma from what happened, and to help people who were dealing with the effects of tear gas and other health issues. They agreed, and we put a van out for five weeks. So, we were out there during the day. I was out there as a nurse working to help people. And then, in the evening, when I was off work, I would be out there as a protester.
One day, I saw a group of people sitting on the grass in the same complex where Michael Brown was killed. I walked over to see what they were doing. They were group a group of Palestinians who came to the United States—to Missouri, to St. Louis, to Ferguson—to talk to us about the effects of teargas and how to protect ourselves. So, they talked to us about tear gas. They talked to us about gas masks. Because we were putting water on ourselves. We were burning and didn't know what to do.
This was in 2014, before this information was available online. So, we connected. I remember asking them and some other folks later that were part of our Palestinian American community: "Why are you risking yourself in this way? Why are you, especially for the folks who came to the United States, why did you make this trip?" And they said, "because we understand state sanctioned violence. We understand occupation. We understand this type of violence. We don't want it to happen to us, and we don't want it to happen to anyone else. So, we want to help."
That moment taught me a great lesson. It taught me that I had to get out of my black girl bubble, which was making sure that I was dealing with the issues as a Black woman, living in this country, trying to take care of a black son and keeping him safe from police violence. I had to get out and see that there is other oppression, that there are people who are dealing with situations and burdens that I was not dealing with. I had to open to listening and to helping them with their issues, with their struggles, and move that forward. So, even after that delegation left and went back to Palestine, we continued to work with our Palestinian, Arab and Muslim community members. We did that with our Hispanic and Latino community, our Jewish community, our AAPI community and LGBTQ community. Everyone worked together.
Now that we're touching on this, over the past two years, you have taken an unwavering stance on the issue of Palestine, despite the political risks. What compelled you to speak out so forcefully, when others remained silent in Congress and in other places?
Well, for one, because that's why I went to Congress. That's why I wanted to go to Congress. Because I saw this lack of a fight, in so many areas that devastated communities—especially marginalized communities. I wanted to be able to be what I needed. So, out there on the streets of Ferguson, during the protests, to have our Palestinian community, and siblings from abroad show up to support us, even in the really horrible nights, even in those times where we were dealing with noise munitions, tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper spray and dogs, they didn't leave us. They didn't say, "Well, it's getting really rough out here. Let me go home. I can't risk deportation. So let me go home." They were out there with us, and they stood with us. And I decided that is who I want to be. If I'm not the one that is suffering the most, or most directly impacted in this particular situation, I should stand up for those who are—and be able to be a voice.
So, I continued to work with and hold relationships and organize with our Muslim and Arab communities. I fought the Muslim ban and everything that was happening over those next several years while I was running for office, and even when I wasn't running for office. But I ran on ending the siege. I ran on a free Palestine. So, I was going to be Cori in that seat. I wasn't going to change my stance because AIPAC came saying, "Hey, you need to be silent." Because they said it. "We know you're not going to change your stance, but be silent or you're going to have a rough start. It's going to be a tumultuous start to your tenure in Congress." I didn't care. This is who I wanted to be. I wanted to be the one that would stand up and fight.
So, when we found out that there was about to be a ground invasion of Gaza after Oct. 7, we didn't want to see any bloodshed from anyone. We didn't want to see anyone lose their life. The idea that there was going to be a ground invasion where we didn't know how far it was going to go and how long it would last—we wanted to save lives. So, Rashida and I introduced the Ceasefire Now Resolution.
And I was thinking to myself, and I even said to Rashida Tlaib, "I understand that you are the one who is suffering the most here in Congress. In this situation, you are the only Palestinian American in the United States Congress. You shouldn't have to carry this burden on your own. I know what that's like to carry the burden from trying to fight for your own people, trying to get the world to understand." Because they would say during Ferguson, "Oh, it's just Black people complaining again." No, we don't want to be disproportionately killed by the police in this country with impunity. So, I wanted to be the same for her. I said, "Just like a group of Palestinians who came to the United States and stood with us to support us, our Palestinians in the United States stood with us. I'm going to stand for you. So, if you want me to lead here, I will lead. If you want me to stand next to you, I will stand next to you as you lead."
That's how that happened. I knew that there would be rough days. I knew that people were going to be upset with us. But why be in the seat if you're not willing to fight for what's right? If you're not willing to lose something? All I lost was a seat in Congress. I didn't lose my voice. I didn't lose my name. I didn't lose my heart. I didn't lose my fight. The only thing I lost was a seat—a door with my name on it—that I can run for again if I want to.
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Source: Getty IMages
You touched on the primary. During that primary campaign, you were targeted by extraordinary spending from pro-Israel advocacy groups. Can you walk us through how that unfolded and what it revealed to you about the state of our electoral system?
Well, first, we have to get the big money out of politics. We have to overturn Citizens United. I know that there are advocates that have been doing that work for a long time, but that's something that we need to get done. A lot won't change until that happens.
But also, to be targeted because I stood up to save lives—to be targeted in a way that was deceitful. That's the part that was really unsettling for me. Because, if someone wants to run against you, they can run against you. If they qualify to run, they can do that. That was not my issue. If I'm not doing the work, if I'm not doing my job, if I'm not taking care of the community, if I'm being someone other than who I said that I would be—then absolutely. At that point, you deserve to have someone run against you that could do a better job.
But that wasn't the case. I was taking care of the community. I was bringing money to the district. I was on the ground fighting for my community, as well as fighting for my community in DC. To have AIPAC and the pro-Israel lobby decide that "We want to work to unseat Cori Bush at all costs, regardless of if what we're saying or doing is true, if it's malicious or not." They didn't care. They didn't care that I led a protest on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in 2021 because the eviction moratorium that was saving 11 million people from being at risk for evictions was about to expire. I didn't want anyone to live on the street like me or be evicted from their home and be housing insecure like I had been in my lifetime. I didn't want that for anyone else. I put my body on the line to stand up for that in the face of being against the Democratic administration, against my colleagues in Congress and a bunch of other folks. I did that to help people and to save lives. So, it's not that I wasn't taking care of people or the community. That saved 7,000 people in my district alone.
They didn't care about any of that. They only care about their agenda, which is to stand 100 percent with Israel and against the Palestinians. So, they use racism. They distorted my face on mailers to make me look like I wasn't human—like an animal. They called me antisemitic. They put out so much misinformation and disinformation. But one thing that they did not do, in all the millions of dollars of ads on television, social media and radio, they never once spoke about Israel. They never once spoke about Gaza.
All the ads were about Cori Bush being against Joe Biden. "Cori Bush wants children to drink contaminated water out of lead pipes." That's what they used against me. "Cori Bush was against the infrastructure package, the infrastructure deal. She doesn't want to fix our roads and bridges. She doesn't stand with our unions." That's what their messages were. And they distorted the truth. And what I would say was, if you are right in what you're doing, if what you're saying and doing is correct, if you're pushing for a great candidate, then speak to that. Tell the truth. If you're going to be better, then you can tell the truth about me. If you feel like this other person would be better, then that should be what wins the race.
But they couldn't tell the truth about me. They had to lie. And that's the hard part, because they use all this money to lie to your community and make you into someone you're not. They discredit you because they understand the amount of power that you hold. And they understand it is the people who have the power. So, they know that if we can discredit this person, who the people trust and look up to, then we not only strip that person of their power—we strip power from the people. And that's what they did. They took the power of the voters in my district. They took it away from them and lied to them about who their representative is. But they also lied about the person that they were pushing for the seat. Because now that person has taken so much money from AIPAC, which is funded pretty much primarily by Republicans. They are pushing a Republican agenda. And now in the face of everything that's coming out of the Trump administration—this fascist, authoritarian regime, all this devastation and destruction we're seeing in this country as well as in Gaza—the new representative is quiet. They are not only silenced—they can't say anything because of who bought the seat for him.
Leaders build. leaders shape history. They don't wait for history to happen to them. They do the work ahead of time.
- Cori Bush
What does that experience and what you describe say about the status of the Democratic Party as a whole? What does it say about where this Democratic Party is right now?
The Democratic Party in a really bad spot. The party needs to reckon with itself differently than what it's doing now. It needs to reckon with itself and realize that, first, progressives are not the enemy. We never have been. Progressives are a part of the team. Progressives and their organizing are how some of the great work that the party is able to tout is done. The party needs to bring people who are not the same as some of those other more centrist Democrats—bring them to the table. Bring us to the table.
Saying that we are the party of human rights—that we're the party of civil rights—and being able to say, "I'm fighting for you—we believe in civil rights." This is how we have to fight against Donald Trump trying to strip our rights from us. But when you take money from the same people that are doing this, if you take money from the Republicans through organizations like AIPAC—then it makes you a hypocrite. But then you have some progressives who don't take that money for their campaigns, who are silenced or shunned or sidelined because they're pushing to try to make the party better.
We have to bring everyone in. So, when we introduced the Ceasefire Now resolution along with several others—the Squad, Pramila Jayapal, I believe Andre Carson, and a few other folks—we did it because we could see what was coming. We didn't know how bad the devastation and destruction would be, but we knew that if we didn't do something, it could be really, really bad. So, we at least started—we did something. From the administration down to our colleagues, we were criticized and attacked for that, and now some of those same folks have adopted that same policy stance. And now they're saying this is really bad now. Well, this is what we were trying to stop. So, listening to those who may have different viewpoints or a different idea of how we get to the same goal is key. Right now, the Democratic Party is hurting itself. People are falling away from the Democratic Party. People don't want to consider themselves Democrats. Or they are still with the party but don't want to vote, which is harmful as well.
There needs to be a lot of work. And we need to look at who we call leaders. Why do we call people leaders that aren't actually leading as opposed to messaging? That's your messenger. Are they actually leading? How are they leading? Leaders lead by doing something that is necessary, by seeing what's coming, by doing things ahead of time—not being necessarily always reactive, but being proactive.
Leaders build. leaders shape history. They don't wait for history to happen to them. They do the work ahead of time. But the Democratic Party calls people leaders simply because they have a big microphone. So, we need to get away from that. We need to get away from, "Oh this person is popular, so we've got to listen to them." No, show us who you are. Because a lemon is only going to produce lemon juice. An orange tree is only going to produce oranges that will produce orange juice. That's it. It'll never be pomegranate. It'll never be grapes. So, in the same way, we can't expect people who are not the fighters to fight in a moment where we're asking for fighters. We can't expect people who are not true leaders to lead. We need to look to those who have actually shown themselves and proven themselves to be that.
What insights have you gained from your experience confronting the influence of powerful lobbying groups like AIPAC? And how would you compare their reach to that of other major lobbies such as the gun lobby?
I mean, their influence is powerful. They have made a lot of investments in other communities as well. They put together trips to Israel for Black youth and clergy. So, it's not just Congress—it's local elected officials and state officials. They have been working to try to lock in support. And they've been doing that for years. They spend a lot of time on Capitol Hill lobbying.
They have been able to gain a lot of support just through that. Also, they've gained support just from people being afraid that, if they don't support that, they'll be challenged. So, some of it is not necessarily support. Some of it is fear from elected officials, which I think is absolutely disgusting. I don't want you supporting my work, or only speaking up for my issue because you're afraid of what I'll do to you if you don't. That is bullying—it is beyond bullying, actually.
We look at the NRA. We look at big pharma and big real estate. We look at the pro-war industry. So much of this is connected. But they can stand firm because it is not just Republicans who they support. It's not just Republicans who accept their donations and have meetings with them. We have Democrats who accept money from big pharma—lots and lots of money—and who have stock in some of these companies. There is this gross negligence on the part of our elected officials.
We cannot hold these folks accountable for what they're doing, let alone what happens to our communities, when we are also at the table eating with them or patting them on the back, saying "Thank you for helping me stay in office." We have to hold these folks accountable. So, I think it's one and the same.
The Democrats have kind of moved away from the NRA. But as you're moving away from the NRA, you've given a red carpet to these other PACs and corporations that are still hurting our community. So, it may not be with a gun necessarily, but it's with other equipment. It's with other weapons. It's with other work.
What's your position on the continued flow of US arms to countries accused of grave human rights abuses, particularly in the Middle East?
I'm not in support of the United States sending arms to any country that is guilty of human rights abuses or war crimes, even if they're not considered guilty yet. But it looks like that's what's happening with what we see coming out of this Israeli military—out of what Netanyahu is doing right now in Gaza and the West Bank.
This applies to other parts of the world. We see what Modi is doing. There's no way that the United States should have a hand in this. Our taxpayer dollars are being used to harm other humans when we know that by giving these states arms, that's exactly what's going to happen. More people will be killed or in harm's way.
You touched on the fact that, during your campaign, the focus of attacks on you was not on your work on foreign policy or criticizing what was happening in Gaza—it was other things. How much do your constituents know about foreign policy? How much did they know about what was happening and your views? How can we engage people on foreign policy? Because it seems it's not on top of people's priorities, but it has a very consequential impact on their lives.
I think that people are learning. People are waking up to what's happening—not only in their local communities, but around the world. And I think that happens in ebbs and flows. There are times when people aren't listening as much or engaging as much, and then there are other times when people really want to know what's happening. And I feel that my constituents were really plugged in on some issues, and on other issues, not so much.
Look at how people are just trying to get along, people are just trying to survive. Our community was number one for police murder in the United States for many, many years. Our community was number one or number two for homicides per capita in the country. We were dealing with a lot of issues as it relates to climate change, like lead in the pipes, and we have an issue of radioactive waste being left in our community. That has affected so many people who are suffering from these rare cancers and people who have died.
There's so much happening, on top of people trying to afford their groceries, and people trying to live their lives and survive, on top of trying to deal with whatever is happening locally. So, looking at what's happening on the national level or the international level, I don't believe that we're always as plugged in because we have so much going on.
But on some foreign policy, my community was really plugged in. I know St. Louis City introduced a Ceasefire Now resolution very early. After Rashida and I introduced ours, they took our resolution and applied it on a local level, basically created their own resolution from it, and passed it unanimously. They had the support of their constituents to be able to pass it.
People were reaching out about Ukraine and about other issues. But I think it was when I was attacked by AIPAC that a lot more people said they were able to see how it impacts them. They realized that "My tax dollars are being used to bomb families when my cousin doesn't have a place to live. We don't have air conditioning in my child's school in every classroom, but we were able to send money over to another country." So, I think people really started to see and started to seek more information.
But we have to do the work. We have to do the work to make sure that we're in our communities, educating people on what's happening. But you also have to be sensitive to the fact that people are being crushed. People are being crushed by so many other things that are happening, coming out of the Trump administration, that being able to see and empathize with what's happening around the world is hard. They may want to know about it, but they may not be able to give a lot of energy to it because they're thinking, "Will I have a job tomorrow? Am I going to be on the street?"
Looking back, which achievements are you most proud of from your time in Congress and where did you encounter the most formidable resistance?
Being able to help people stay in their homes during the eviction moratorium. Eleven million people were at risk. And although the Supreme Court overturned the ruling weeks later, the fact that we saved people from being evicted, and we helped the money from the federal government flow to these rental property owners so that folks could stay in those homes—that saves lives. So, I'm very proud of that. I'm proud that we, the activists, stood up and did that. They told me I could not do it. They told me I would not win. And we stood out there on the Capitol steps for four nights and five days and we won. I'm proud of that.
I'm also proud of the Reparations Now resolution because the United States has a moral and legal obligation to apologize, but to also provide reparations, to the descendants of enslaved Black folks in this country. That's because of the atrocities from chattel slavery and how this country benefited economically from it through time. This economy thrived because of this unpaid, forced labor put on my ancestors.
So, I'm honored to have been in a position to bring a resolution forward that speaks to that. Being able to be the first Black woman, alongside Representative Ayanna Pressley, to sponsor the Equal Rights Amendment, and to be able to push that legislation forward, to make sure that equality, including gender equality, is in our constitution. To be able to do that, to be able to put together the first ever caucus [Congressional Equality Caucus, CEC], 100 years in the making, in the Congress—that had never been done before. And within the first three months, it was the fifth largest caucus in the Congress. I'm proud of that.
I'm also proud to have been part of the Ceasefire Now resolution. And I'm proud that we stood and we didn't waver. I'm proud that we stood and we fought. I'm proud that we helped change the conversation in Congress and in the Biden administration. I'm proud that we were there. I'm glad that we helped groups and organizations, alongside campus protesters and students across the country, to be able to have something to organize upon.
I'm glad that we're able to push state and local officials to be able to do the same things in their communities. I'm proud that we stood up for Gazans, to help protect as many lives as we could. I'm thankful for that, although we weren't successful in saving the over 50,000 lives lost—some reporting says 200,000. But I believe that if we had not organized, if we had not written the resolution, if we had not worked with unions and so many other groups—that the devastation would have been even greater.
What gives you hope, Congresswoman, as you look ahead? And what, if anything, keeps you up at night?
I am a believer. And so, my God is what gives me hope every single day. Because we are still here. The fact that there are people right now on this planet who have made the decision to fight for people, to stand up for humanity, regardless of what it costs—that we haven't backed down. People are working together who weren't building together before. People have realized the interconnectedness of so many issues and are standing up for one another. That gives me hope.
Even today, it gives me hope that Columbia students are fighting. The students on those campuses and other campuses across the country are still out fighting—saying "We need not only the arms embargo." They want their universities to divest from sending money to Israel that is being used to harm Palestinians.
We are the ones that have to do that work. We can't expect anyone else to do it for us. So, that gives me hope—that we've made the decision that we're not going to wait for others to fight and to stand up. We'll do it ourselves.
What keeps me up at night is knowing that we haven't won. It's that there's so much happening and people need help in so many different ways. Right now, people are being disappeared and deported. People are being arrested. The harm is so pervasive right now in so many communities—just being pummeled. We're missing people every day. There are people who are going to sleep at night who are hungry. And this was before my time in Congress—people going to bed hungry every night, people not having a place to go to bed. The threat of bombs falling on people. The lack of resources in so many ways. All the things that are happening across our world. That's what keeps me up at night—knowing that we haven't saved everyone. We haven't fixed the issues. And we have this regime that has four years to do more harm. We're going backwards. These racist, fascist, bigoted, maniacal and genocidal people are running our country and are working with other countries to do the same.
But we're still here.
