“I’m playing today for all the little Black girls with big dreams – whether those dreams are on the baseball field or in the halls of Congress,” Crockett told CNN.
“As the first Black Woman Democrat to play in the Congressional Baseball Game, I want to show those girls that if I can do it, they can do it – and probably a lot better,” she continued.
The event was a win for Republicans who defeated the Democrats 16-6. It is the GOP’s third consecutive win. The game, which began in 1909, was created to garner funds for local causes, and this year, the bipartisan event is supporting chapters of the Boys & Girls Club, Nationals Philosophies and the Washington Literacy Center.
Before Crockett, former Rep. Mia Love was the first Black Republican woman elected to Congress to play in the game.
Crockett currently represents Texas’ 30th district and serves on the House Oversight Committee. She was a civil rights attorney before being elected to Congress.
According to CNN, there has been a “consistent increase in women elected to the Senate and House of Representatives, they still make up a small minority. The 150 women currently serving represent a little more than a quarter of the legislative bodies combined, and among them only 28 are Black women.”
In addition to being the first Black Demoratic woman to play in the game, she was the only woman to play on the Democratic side. On the opposing side, California Rep. Linda Sánchez, Rep. Kat Cammack of Florida, Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa, Lisa McClain of Michigan and Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa participated.
Crockett once served in the Texas state legislature where she was the lone Black freshman Democrat. During her tenure, she “proposed over 60 bills that tackled criminal justice reform, loosening drug laws and expanding voting access.”
