History was made on Monday when a conference committee to iron out differences between the Minnesota House and Senate versions of a bill to modify residential housing tenant and landlord provisions met. For the first time it was being chaired by two Black women, one of Nigerian descent and the other Somali.
Before a bill can be sent to the governor for his signature, the House and Senate must reconcile any differences, so that only one bill emerges from the legislature. The process of accomplishing the reconciling is referred to as sending the bill to conference, hence conference committee. The two chambers choose their own representatives (conferees) to represent them at the conference committee. Typically, the chair of each chamber’s conferees being sent to conference on a bill tend to be one of the authors. The conference committee meeting is then co-chaired by the chairs of each chamber’s conferees’ chair.
So, it came to be that for the Tenant-Landlord bill referred to as HF3591 in the Minnesota House and SF3492 in the Senate, the authors for each were a Black woman. The Senate, which since its existence never had a Black woman sit in its chairs as a lawmaker until January 2023, tasked Sen. Zaynab Mohamed (DFL – Minneapolis) to chair their group, while the House selected Esther Agbaje (DFL – Minneapolis), a former Foreign Affairs Officer with the U.S. Department of State born to Nigerian immigrants, as the chair of its conferees.
Mshale has an earlier story on the far-reaching effects of the Tenant-Landlord bill that the conference committee met to discuss on Monday, which you can read at this link.
The conference committee met for just under 30 minutes in public. Both co-chairs issued a joint written press statement after the meeting.
Sen. Mohamed, who came to the United States from Somalia at age nine, described the historic moment as a milestone for Black women in Minnesota, adding “Representation matters, and the diversity of backgrounds we bring to the legislature makes us stronger. I am honored to be part of this historic conference committee to show other Minnesotans that they too can lead.”
Rep. Agbaje on her part said the two of them are “breaking ceilings and shattering the status quo of leadership in the Minnesota Legislature.”
“We stand on the shoulders of giants – phenomenal Black women who paved the way. But today, we’re not just following their path, we’re widening it for generations to come,” said Rep. Agbaje. “This is Minnesota’s future, a vibrant reflection of the diversity that defines our communities.”
Sen. Clare Oumou Verbeten was one of the conferees from the Senate side and one of the first three Black women – along with Sen. Mohamed – elected to the Minnesota Senate in 2022. After making remarks on the substance of the Tenan-Landlord bill, she took a moment to reflect on historic moment.
“I just want to say how much I enjoy seeing the two of you chair a conference committee, it’s just lovely and thank you for inviting me to be a part of it,” said Sen. Oumou Verbeten.
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About Tom Gitaa Gitaa, Editor-in-Chief
Born and raised in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa, Tom is the Founder, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Mshale which has been reporting on the news and culture of African immigrants in the United States since 1995. He has a BA in Business from Metro State University and a Public Leadership Credential from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He was the original host of Talking Drum, the signature current affairs show on the African Broadcasting Network (ABN-America), which was available nationwide in the United States via the Dish Network satellite service. On the show, he interviewed Nobel laureates such as 2004 Nobel Peace prize winner, Professor Wangari Maathai, the first woman from Africa to win the peace prize and heads of states. Tom has served and chaired various boards including Global Minnesota (formerly Minnesota International Center), the sixth largest World Affairs Council in the United States. He has previously served as the first Black President of the Board of Directors at Books for Africa. He also serves on the boards of New Vision Foundation and the Minnesota Multicultural Media Consortium. He has previously served two terms on the board of the United Nations Association. An avid runner, he retired from running full marathons after turning 50 and now only focuses on training for half marathons.
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