NORTHAMPTON — Residents of the 1st Congressional District are not only the worst off economically in Massachusetts, they also have a sense of hopelessness stemming from a lack of responsiveness to their concerns from their elected official in the U.S. House, contends Springfield attorney Tahirah Amatul-Wadud.
“There is no reason our congressman should be in his position for 29 years and we are the poorest district in the commonwealth,” said Amatul-Wadud, who is running for the seat held by U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, since 1988. “It is unacceptable.”
That was as close as Amatul-Wadud, 44, came to mentioning Neal’s name during a campaign stop Monday at Pathways Co-housing in Florence. The event, co-sponsored by Indivisible Northampton and Badass Activists in the Pioneer Valley, drew nearly 50 people.
Amatul-Wadud, who is challenging Neal in the Sept. 4 Democratic primary, outlined three planks on which she intends to focus, noting her platform “unapologetically centers on people.”
“We are developing a policy we think that is responsive to what is happening in our communities,” Amatul-Wadud said.
First is economic prosperity that will include promoting high-speed internet for rural communities, slowing down the “brain drain” represented by population losses in Berkshire and Franklin counties, and supporting east-west rail.
Second, she said, the opioid crisis needs to be addressed holistically.
“Families are being ravaged by the opioid crisis, but we’re not talking about it in the right way,” Amatul-Wadud said.
Both clinical and compassionate ways to treat addictions are needed for everyone, including those in the black and brown communities, she said. This means confronting the crisis in the same way, whether the drugs involved are heroin, crack, cocaine, methamphetamines or other substances.
Third, she said will always support a single-payer health care system.
Amatul-Wadud said she doesn’t shy away from noting that she is just four generations removed from the African slave trade and, though born into a Christian family, is now a Muslim.
In fact, part of her work as an attorney has included fighting Islamophobia and seeking more forceful use of federal anti-religious discrimination laws. This included being involved in a civil federal case in upstate New York in which a man was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison for his role in planning an attack against a Muslim community.
“As African-American Muslims, it felt empowering to play a role in the outcome,” she said.
Amatul-Wadud has also been a member of the Commission on the Status of Women in Massachusetts and notes her support for women’s issues, including reproductive rights.
Even though challenging a longtime incumbent, Amatul-Wadud said constituents are already benefiting from her presence in the race.
“I’m here for the people for whom the status quo is not working,” Amatul-Wadud said.