Washington DC - Representatives Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman delivered their farewell addresses to Congress on Thursday, emphasizing the need for reparations and other transformational actions to tackle systemic injustice in America and beyond.

Bush opened her remarks by tracing her path to Congress: from the daughter of working-class parents, to a teen who sought an abortion after being sexually assaulted, to a (formerly) single mom who became a nurse and pastor, and then an activist with the Ferguson uprising movement.

"My life experiences are different from many of my colleagues' here on Capitol Hill, but outside these walls, my experiences are all too familiar," the Missouri Democrat said on the House floor.

Bush said her personal experiences drove her priorities during her two terms in Congress, including fighting for abortion rights, the Equal Rights Amendment, and eviction protections for unhoused people, as well as reparations for Black Americans.

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"I am one of just over 180 Black representatives to ever serve in this institution, where over 1,700 members of Congress who enslaved Black people have held office, and as the congresswoman representing the very district where Dred Scott was denied citizenship because he was Black," Bush said, in reference to the racist 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford Supreme Court decision.

"I've seen how the legacy of enslavement persists in the policies that govern our lives today, from housing and health care to education and economic inequality to mass incarceration and police brutality," she continued.

"It's why I introduced the Reparations Now resolution, laying out a historic framework for how our government can begin its moral and legal obligation to provide reparations to the descendants of chattel slavery in America, because it isn't enough just to acknowledge the past. We must work to reckon with its consequences and act to repair its harms."

Bush in August lost her Democratic primary for reelection to challenger Wesley Bell, the St. Louis County prosecuting attorney. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and Republican donors had dumped $19 million into the race in an effort to unseat her.

"AIPAC, I'm coming to tear your kingdom down!" Bush declared in a fiery concession speech at the time.

The St. Louis native became a target of the Israel lobby for her opposition to Israel's genocide in Palestine and the US' role in the atrocities. She introduced a Ceasefire Now resolution in October 2023 and has repeatedly called for an end to weapons transfers to Israel.

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On Thursday, Bush echoed her criticism of the silence and complicity of many of her colleagues in Congress, vowing, "I will keep standing up for Palestinian liberation and against genocide, against the infanticide, against the femicide, and against the androcide."

"I will fight for peace and against endless war for our collective humanity and against our collective demise, even when my persistence bought – and yes, I say bought – my successor the seat with a whole lot of Republican money."

"The only reason why I won't be here next year is because I didn't bend my morals to special interests."

After Bush's speech, Bowman took the floor. He opened his remarks by thanking his family, especially his wife, for their support, saying, "It's hard for someone to be working class in this chamber."

The former middle school principal and teacher in 2020 became the first Black American elected to represent New York's 16th congressional district.

"My ancestors fought and died for me to have the opportunity to be here," Bowman said. "My ancestors built this place and built the strongest economy in the world as enslaved Africans in this country."

"Though we did not pass any legislation related to reparations, we will continue to fight for reparations for Black people in this country," he added.

Bowman, like Bush, lost his seat to a big money-backed Democratic challenger who pledged full support to the Israeli regime amid the US-backed genocide in Gaza. On Thursday, the outgoing representative once again called for a slashing of the annual military budget of over $886 billion and reinvestment in the American people, especially communities of color and working-class people.

"Free Palestine. Free the Bronx. And free all marginalized people, especially those locked up on trumped-up marijuana charges," Bowman closed, echoing growing calls for lame-duck President Joe Biden to use his clemency powers more broadly to address the mass incarceration crisis.

The new Congress will be sworn in on January 3, 2025, just days before Republican Donald Trump returns to the White House on January 20.