NASSAU, Bahamas, July 11, 2023 – U.S. Congresswoman Maxine Waters and Rwanda President Paul Kagame were among the nearly 300 people, including Bahamians and foreign nationals, who were awarded national honors announced by the Office of Bahamas Governor General Sir Cornelius A. Smith on Monday, July 10, the 50th anniversary of The Bahamas’ attainment of Independence Day from Great Britain.
Congresswoman Waters has been a frequent visitor to The Bahamas over the years since her husband Sidney Williams was United States Ambassador to The Bahamas from 1994 to 1998. During Mr. Williams’ tenure as U.S. Ambassador to The Bahamas, he and Congresswoman Waters became close friends with Sir Franklyn Wilson, Chairman of Sunshine Holdings Limited, and his wife, former President of The Bahamas Senate Lady Sharon Wilson, and they were house guests of the Wilsons on their visits to Nassau.
As an avid fan of Junkanoo, the world-renowned cultural festival, on her visits during Christmas season, she was among the thousands of spectators who enjoyed the annual the Boxing Day parade on December 26, and the New Year’s Day junkanoo parade on January 1.
Congresswoman Waters is considered by many to be one of the most powerful women in American politics today. She has gained a reputation as a fearless and outspoken advocate for women, children, people of color and the poor.
Elected in November 2022 to her seventeenth term in the U.S. House of Representatives with more than 70 percent of the vote in the 43rd Congressional District of California, Congresswoman Waters represents a large part of South Los Angeles, including the communities of Westchester, Playa Del Rey, and Watts and the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County comprised of Lennox, West Athens, West Carson, Harbor Gateway and El Camino Village. The 43rd District also includes the diverse cities of Gardena, Hawthorne, Inglewood, Lawndale, Lomita and Torrance.
She made history as the first woman and first African American Chair of the House Financial Services Committee. An integral member of Congressional Democratic Leadership, she serves as a member of the Steering & Policy Committee and is the Co-Chair of the bipartisan Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease. She is also a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and member and past chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Throughout her more than 40 years of public service, Maxine Waters has been on the cutting edge, tackling difficult and often controversial issues. She has combined her strong legislative and public policy acumen and high visibility in Democratic Party activities with an unusual ability to do grassroots organizing.
Prior to her election to the House of Representatives in 1990, she had already attracted national attention for her no-nonsense, no-holds-barred style of politics. During 14 years in the California State Assembly, she rose to the powerful position of Democratic Caucus Chair. She was responsible for some of the boldest legislation California has ever seen: the largest divestment of state pension funds from South Africa; landmark affirmative action legislation; the nation’s first statewide Child Abuse Prevention Training Program; the prohibition of police strip searches for nonviolent misdemeanors; and the introduction of the nation’s first plant closure law.
Throughout her career, Congresswoman Waters has been an advocate for international peace, justice, and human rights. Before her election to Congress, she was a leader in the movement to end Apartheid and establish democracy in South Africa. She opposed the 2004 Haitian coup d’état, which overthrew the democratically-elected government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide in Haiti, and defends the rights of political prisoners in Haiti’s prisons. She leads congressional efforts to cancel the debts that poor countries in Africa and Latin America owe to wealthy institutions like the World Bank and free poor countries from the burden of international debts.
