Rep. Mia Love praised

By Joseph Green-Bishop
Arise Rejoice News Service

The first Black woman to serve as a Republican in the U.S. Congress and one of the few Republicans to oppose President Trump’s candidacy and immigration policies has died.

Former Representative Mia Love, whose parents were Haitian immigrants, passed on Sunday night in her home in Sarasota Springs, Utah. She was 49 years old and had battled brain cancer since 2022.

A member of the Mormon Church, Rep. Love was first elected to Congress in 2014. She refused to endorse President Trump during the 2016 Republican presidential primary.

In a recent column in a Utah newspaper she pleaded for an end to political divisiveness in American society, asking Americans to focus on those things that they had in common rather than their differences. “In the end I hope that my life will have mattered and made a difference for the nation I love and the family and friends I adore,” said the New York City native.

After unsavory remarks by candidate Trump were released prior to the 2016 presidential election Congresswoman Love said that she could not support his candidacy. After losing to a Democrat in the 2018 congressional election, Rep.
Love worked as a political commentator for CNN.

U.S. Congressman James Clyburn (D-S.C.) released the following statement on the passing of former Congresswoman Love “I grew to know, admire, and respect Mia during her time in Congress. As the first Black Republican woman elected to Congress, she believed in unity, and understood that its existence does not require
unanimity. Mia fiercely stood against bias toward the Haitian community, and leaves a tremendous legacy of over 15 years in public service for the people of Utah.

“My prayers are with her loved ones during this time.”

Born in Brooklyn, New York, she moved to Connecticut, where she graduated from the University of Hartford with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts. She then moved to Saratoga Springs, Utah, where she ran for city council and served several terms before being elected mayor of Saratoga Springs in 2009.

Prior to entering politics, she was a flight attendant and call center operator.

Congresswoman Love, who often spoke of the contributions that immigrants like her parents made to American life, is survived by her husband, Jason, and their three children, Abi, Peyton and Allesa.