Rhode Island is the nation’s smallest state and its Black population is among the smallest of any state at 6.3 percent. But voters saw fit to make Rep. Gabe Amo their first Black person to be elected to Congress. 

A native of Pawtucket, Amo is a graduate of Wheaton College and then received a Truman Scholarship, a Public Policy and International Affairs Fellowship, and a Marshall Scholarship to study comparative social policy at Merton College, Oxford, earning a Master’s degree.

Bringing a wealth of experience to his new position, Amo previously worked in the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs under the Obama and Biden administrations as a liaison to governors and other elected officials nationwide. Additionally, he was a special assistant to President Biden and was an aide to then-Gov. Gina Raimondo.

BET.com spoke with Amo about his historic election, growing up Black in Rhode Island, and the experience he gained from working in the Obama and Biden administrations.

BET.com: When you knew the election was over and you were victorious, how did that moment impact you?

Rep.Gabe Amo: It was very special to have people from throughout the community and the first district to be part of this. As I said throughout this campaign, my story is a Rhode Island story so wherever people come from, they should feel part of it. But I certainly have a special appreciation for being the first black person to do this.

BET.com: How was it to grow up Black in Rhode Island, a state with such a small Black population?

Amo: I think it’s not unlike the Black experience in a lot of other places. The foundation is family and the commonalities that you find with other folks in the Black community, particularly as I describe my experience, being a son of West African immigrants. But at the end of the day, still a Black man in this context. 

So that experience starts at home, but when you travel to different parts of Rhode Island, we experience the difference in the composition of the population and that's okay. It just means that people are coming to the public sphere with different lived experiences and I've always been proud to bring mine.

BET.com: As the son of African immigrants, how did the experience of your parents influence your worldview and political perspective?

Rep. Gabe Amo: I think my worldview has always been about hard work and overcoming. Sometimes you do have to work a little bit harder when there are barriers that exist that might force you to put your efforts towards changing perception or changing assumptions. So, that's been what that experience has been and the duality of the immigrant experience and being a Black American, frankly, here in Rhode Island, I don't think unless I say it, no one's thinking about it. I’ve always been aware of the different identities that people possess and I've always been hyper-aware of people's stories, and why people are involved in the work that they are in. 

BET.com: During your campaign, you ran on a platform of protecting Medicare, and Social Security, as well as access to reproductive rights for women. Why do you believe that those issues, especially the right to an abortion was such a successful tenet of your campaign and many Democratic colleagues across the country who won in the last election?

Amo: In a word, it's freedom. Bodily autonomy, the ability to control your own decisions and outcomes is about freedom. When I talk about gun violence it is a freedom from fear. When I talk about retirement security and Social Security and Medicare, it's about the freedom to thrive in this economy after you have lived a life where you've given so much. I think we have to assert that there are fundamental needs for so many people to thrive and freedom as part of it but the opportunity to really live one's full life and have government be a vehicle. 

When I talk about jobs in the supply chains of the future in Rhode Island, it’s not an abstract concept. It’s so that people can get a good paying job to sustain their families and can be a part of the same story of hard work, grit, resilience, and determination that makes the next generation better.

BET.com: Previously, you worked with the Obama Administration and Biden Administration. What lessons have you learned that you will take with you into your new role in Congress?

Amo: At its core, it's the value and the elevated sense that public service has such a capacity to make people's lives better. It’s something that we should not take for granted. I've got to work for two amazing presidents and two amazing people who spent their lives contributing to our nation's story of progress. 

So when I look at President Obama, and all of the energy that he brought out of young people, out of diverse populations, out of so many communities who saw it and still feel inspiration because of our nation, placed their bets on optimism. That is moving. So even though I was only a junior staffer in the Obama administration that work was inspirational because it shows that the government has an essential function. For me, it's always been that the government is there when people need it the most. 

When I look at my time working for President Biden, we had a COVID-19 pandemic, an economic collapse on the horizon, and you had democracy and the underpinnings of it under attack. I was a part of a big team led by the President and Vice President Kamala Harris. What we're able to accomplish, the historic nature of their work is something that is nothing short of amazing from investing in people, rebuilding our country and our infrastructure, making sure that the place that we live in is habitable, and working as hard as we can to make sure that people can thrive in this economy. That is remarkable work that we just have to make people feel.  

Editor’s Note: This article has been edited for length and clarity.