Bonnie Watson Coleman
U.S. Representative from NJ, District 12
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Biography
Bonnie Watson Coleman is the first Black woman elected to Congress from New Jersey, serving on the Appropriations Committee with deep engagement in civil rights.
Bonnie Watson Coleman is the groundbreaking U.S. Representative for New Jersey's 12th Congressional District, the first Black woman elected to Congress from New Jersey. A Thomas Edison State University graduate, she served more than a decade in the New Jersey General Assembly as the first African American woman to lead a party caucus in either chamber of the state legislature. In the 119th Congress, Watson Coleman serves on the House Appropriations Committee with focus on the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Transportation and Housing and Urban Development subcommittees. She serves as chair of the Democratic Caucus's Task Force on Poverty, as House Democratic Deputy Whip for Policy, and on the Congressional Progressive Caucus Executive Board. Watson Coleman co-founded the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls and remains a strong voice for racial justice and economic equity.