Anthony Woods is running for a seat as Congressman for the California 10th District. He is definitely raising some eyebrows with an ability to raise campaign money. He has been endorsed by VoteVets.org, the nation’s largest progressive veteran’s organization.
He has a Masters in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, 2008 and a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, 2003. He was an aide to New York Gov. David Paterson. He served two tours of duty in Iraq, and was a Recipient of Bronze Star.
In June of 2005, Woods was deployed for his second tour to Iraq with the 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment. Upon his arrival, he immediately took command of a 64 soldier platoon. During this deployment Woods’ unit was involved in the Battle for Tal Afar.
Woods brought home all 81 of the soldiers who served under his command.
While at Harvard – He was a co-recipient of the Robert F. Kennedy Public Service Award for his work his work mentoring low-income minorities applying to college and numerous other community leadership activities—including co-founding the first student chapter of the Fuller Center for Housing, and making three trips to New Orleans to assist families struggling to rebuild following Hurricane Katrina.
He was born on Travis Air Force Base to a single mother who worked as a housekeeper. He is 28 years old.
Anthony Woods, Democrat for California's 10th District
Young, black, gay and running for Congress
In April, Anthony Woods, a 28-year-old West Point graduate who recently earned his master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, announced his candidacy for a soon-to-be vacant seat in California’s 10th Congressional District.
Woods was an Army veteran in Iraq, but subsequently discharged for being gay under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
Despite his lack of name recognition, Woods has effectively used social media sites like Twitter and Facebook to raise more than $100,000 for the fund-raising quarter that ended June 30th.
The two tour Iraq War Veteran has also recruited more than 800 donors – exceeding figures released by all of his competitors.
Woods’ ability to connect with a youth culture increasingly accepting of gays suggests a number of possibilities for black gay community.
Should Woods win the seat and go on to enjoy a lengthy and successful career in politics, it will be very hard for history to downplay his contributions to the political world the way it was done with civil rights activist Bayard Rustin. Many – including a number of black gays – know little about Rustin’s work to combat segregation, apartheid, and homophobia.
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