Phara Souffrant Forrest (born February 5, 1989) is an American politician, nurse, and tenant activist. A member of the

Democratic Socialists of America The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a political organization in the United States and the country's largest Socialism, socialist organization. Sitting on the Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left of the politic ...

, she is the assembly member for the 57th district of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

. After defeating incumbent Assembly Member Walter T. Mosley in the Democratic primary in June 2020, Forrest won the general election in November of that year. She defeated former District Manager of Community Board 2 Olanike Alabi in the primary to defend her seat in 2022. She was unopposed in the general election.

Early life and education

Forrest was born in

Crown Heights, Brooklyn Crown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. Crown Heights is bounded by Washington Avenue to the west, Atlantic Avenue (New York City), Atlantic Avenue to the north, ...

to immigrants from

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

. In 2011, she graduated from

State University of New York at Geneseo The State University of New York College at Geneseo (SUNY Geneseo, Geneseo State College or, colloquially, "Geneseo") is a public liberal arts college in Geneseo, New York. It is New York's public honors college and part of the State University ...

with a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

International Relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

. Forrest pursued a career in nursing, attending the

New York City College of Technology The New York City College of Technology (City Tech) is a public college in New York City. Founded in 1946, it is the City University of New York's college of technology. Its main urban campus is located in Downtown Brooklyn. History City Tech ...

and the

CUNY School of Professional Studies The CUNY School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) is a public university and is part of the City University of New York (CUNY). History In June of 2003, Neil Kleiman, then-director of the Center for an Urban Future, addressed the Board of Tru ...

to receive an A.A.S. and B.S. in Registered Nursing, respectively.

Political career

In 2017, Forrest joined the Crown Heights Tenant Union as part of her efforts to fight the

gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...

and displacement of her rent-stabilized apartment building. In June 2019, she worked with the Housing Justice for All campaign to fortify tenant protective rights. In August 2019, Forrest launched a campaign against incumbent Democrat Walter T. Mosley in the primary for the heavily Democratic 57th State Assembly district. Souffrant's campaign emphasized support for

decarceration Decarceration in the United States involves government policies and community campaigns aimed at reducing the number of people held in custody or custodial supervision. Decarceration, the opposite of incarceration, also entails reducing the rate ...

, investment in

public housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

, and state-wide

single-payer healthcare Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare, in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer"). Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from pr ...

. During her campaign, she was endorsed by the

and Representative

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (born October 13, 1989), also known as AOC, is an American politician and activist who has served since 2019 as the United States House of Representatives, US representative for New York's 14th congressional distric ...

. Her campaign was funded entirely by the community, with no outside funding from corporations or businesses. Forrest trailed Mosley by 588 votes on election night June 23, 2020, but

absentee ballots Absentee or The Absentee may refer to: * Absentee (band), a British band * The Absentee, a novel by Maria Edgeworth, published in 1812 in ''Tales of Fashionable Life'' * ''The Absentee'' (1915 film), a 1915 American silent film directed by Christy ...

were more significant than usual due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Once absentee ballots were counted on July 22, 2020, Forrest led Mosley by over 2,500 votes and was declared the winner. While Mosley remained on the general election ballot under the

Working Families Party The Working Families Party (WFP) is a progressive minor political party in the United States, founded in New York in 1998. There are active chapters in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois ...

line, Forrest won the November race with about 74% of the vote over Mosley's 26%. In 2022, Forrest was challenged by former District Leader and Community Board District Manager Olanike "Ola" Alabi in the Democratic primary. Alabi was supported by the Kings County Democratic Party and Congressman

Hakeem Jeffries Hakeem Sekou Jeffries ( ; born August 4, 1970) is an American politician and attorney who has served as Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, House minority leader and House Democratic Caucus#Leaders of the House Democrati ...

, among others. Forrest won with 67.24% of the vote while Alabi received 32.43% of the vote. Forrest was uncontested in the general election.

References

External links

Government website

Official Twitter account
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forrest, Phara Souffrant Living people Members of the Democratic Socialists of America from New York (state) Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Health professionals from Brooklyn Politicians from Brooklyn American politicians of Haitian descent Women state legislators in New York (state) 21st-century American women politicians CUNY School of Professional Studies alumni State University of New York at Geneseo alumni 1989 births New York City College of Technology alumni 21st-century members of the New York State Legislature