Barbara Mikulski was born in Highlandtown, East Baltimore, in 1936. She is now 77 years old. Her parents are William Mikulski, a grocer, and Christine Eleanor. She has two sisters. She went to high school at the Institute of Notre Dame and college at Mount Saint Agnes, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology. She also has a social work master’s degree.
After finishing her studies, she ventured into social activism. She became the face of social activism in her neighborhood in Baltimore. As a community organizer, one of her successful stories was lobbying against the construction of a 16-lane highway that would cut through East Baltimore. She single-handedly managed to unite a highly divisive, cosmopolitan area, to oppose the expansive project. She brought people of different ethnic and racial backgrounds together with the aim of protecting their common interests and wellbeing. She led the Southern Council coalition, which opposed the construction of the road. City hall on the other hand wanted the highway constructed. Her coalition won.
Her leadership abilities in the community campaigns made many people believe that she would be best suited serving the people in politics. She joined local politics as early as 1971, whereby she easily won a seat at the council. She held the office for a five-year term. She did exemplary well during her reign at city hall. She lost to Charles Mathias in 1974 for a seat in the Senate, but won a place to the House of Representatives barely two years later. Her dedication, charisma and love for the people enabled her to win the highly contested elections.
Her struggle to achieve a more just, fair and equitable society especially for the women, poor children and the marginalized has been extensively documented and an attempt to replicate the same would be trite. However, some of the fundamental strides made because of her contribution must be recognized. During her stint at House of Representatives, she was a member of the Merchant Marine & Fisheries Committee and Energy & Commerce Committee. Furthermore, she pushed for Equal Rights Amendment and also other laws to cater for poor children.
It was a victory for women and feminists around the globe when she ran for Senate in 1986 and comfortably won. This was an expression of confidence in her leadership abilities by her constituents. She had served them well. It also illustrated great strides towards women empowerment not only in politics, but also in leadership roles in the society.
She initially had a few challenges settling into the predominantly male Senate. Her preference for pants became a common joke. However, she came through and continued her advocacy not only for her state, but rather at a national level.
For many years, she has been at the forefront in advocating for women issues in her state. She has led the debate for enactment of legislation that would ensure treatment and screening of breast and cervical cancer irrespective of whether one is insured or not. With regards to the elderly in the society, she drafted the Spousal Anti-Impoverishment Act. This was to fight the threatening financial crisis brought by the high cost for nursing home care. She is the chairperson for the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science. In this front, she has been known to encourage research, support innovation and facilitate actualization of talents.
In the Senate, she chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee. She is also a member two critical committees, where she voices the concerns of her constituents, women and the minority. These committees include the Select Committee on Intelligence, and Health, Education, Labour, and Pensions Committee.
After re-election in 2011, she made a pledge to campaign for women candidates with the aim of increasing their number in the Senate. She has also used other forums like the Democratic National Conventions to articulate the need to have more women elected to critical positions in politics. She has been quoted as saying “Women . . . make a difference when we vote and when we lead".
She has won a total of 10 elections. She has won the Senate seat a record five times becoming the longest-serving woman senator in the United States. She has also been a long serving Dean of women in the Senate. Her numerous and commendable achievements have been extremely impressive in the political arena leading former president Bill Clinton to recommend her to Al Gore as a potential running mate. She has also been at the forefront in advocating against increased military action by the United States in foreign countries. She is on record as having opposed military action against Iraq and has urged Obama to ensure troops return home from Afghanistan.
Being a social worker is a unique professional with tremendous challenges. The ultimate objective of a social worker is achieving social justice and ensuring equal sharing of social utility and resources. This has been the cardinal driving force in throughout the life of Senator Barbara Mikulski.
References
Suppes, M., & Cressy Wells, C. (2013). The Social Work Experience: An Introduction to Social Work and Social Welfare, Sixth Edition. Pearson.
wandactioncenter. (2013, July 14). In Profile: Senator Barbara Mikulski. Retrieved September 15, 2013, from www.wandactioncenter.org: http://www.wandactioncenter.org/2012/01/04/women-on-wednesdays-senator-barbara-mikulski/
