Her Story: Congresswoman Maxine Waters

Maxine Waters was born as Maxine Moor Carr on August 15th 1938 in St. Louis. Waters was the fifth of thirteen children born to a single mother. Waters's mother was a hard working woman and she inspired her to work even harder. By the age of 13 Waters started working at factories and segregated restaurants.

In 1956, Waters graduated high school and married her then husband, Edward Waters. The two then had two children and moved to Los Angeles in 1960.

When she first got to Los Angeles, Waters worked at a clothing factory and a telephone company. After working there for some time, she then became an assistant teacher for Head Start which is a federally funded program that helps low-income students succeed in school.

Waters enrolled in California State University in the late 1960s. By 1972 she graduated with a Bachelors Degree of Arts in Sociology. At this time Waters and her husband also divorced, but she continued to be a strong mother for her kids while working at Head Start.

Her passion for helping others led her to get into politics. In 1973, she became the chief deputy to City Councilman David S. Cunningham Jr. and managed his campaigns. By 1977, she was elected to the California Assembly. Her first order of work was to tackle women's issues and communicate with women in the community. Waters served in the assembly for 14 years. A year after she was elected to the California Assembly, Waters and her current husband, Sidney Williams, married.

Fast forward to present day, Maxine Waters is serving as the U.S. Representative for California's 43rd congressional district.

As a congresswoman, Waters spends her days fighting for whats right and helping communities. According to waters.house.gov Waters "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."

Waters is the founding member of the ‘Out of Iraq’ Congressional Caucus. This caucus was formed in June 2005 to create a conversation in congress about the war in Iraq and the decision making process behind going to war and bringing back U.S. service members.

As Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, Waters has worked extensively to keep families safe from evictions and foreclosures during economic crises. Maxine Waters proves time and time again that she is a political superhero and is willing to help out the community. Through her work she's been able to better lives, communities, cities and people. She's gone toe to toe with unethical politicians and has stood up for what's right no matter what. Mrs. Maxine Waters is truly a social humanitarian.