With a nod to her mentor Shirley Chisholm, Rep. Barbara Lee exits Congress as a renegade herself

By LISA MASCARO | Associated Press

WASHINGTON  — Rep. Barbara Lee has always stood apart, a matter-of-fact renegade with a long list of firsts.

In high school, she was the first Black student to integrate her Southern California cheerleading squad.

During the Democrat’s more than two decades in Congress, she has been the only Black woman elected to the House from California’s regions north of Los Angeles.

But it was Lee’s lonely 2001 vote as the only lawmaker against...