State Rep. Juandalynn Givan, who has represented a Birmingham district in the Alabama House since 2010, qualified on Friday to run for Congress in Alabama’s redrawn 2nd District.

Givan, 53, an attorney, announced her candidacy on Court Square in downtown Montgomery, a short distance from the statue of Rosa Parks.

Givan spoke about Parks and other Black women who have been trailblazers, including Harriet Tubman, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Shirley Chisholm, and said she was prepared to go to Washington and fight for better education, health care, veterans services, infrastructure, and environmental protection in the 2nd District.

“This speech, this announcement, serves warning to anybody in the race that I mean business,” Givan said. “I’m not here to play. I stand here today because there are so many people hurting. There are so many people in need in Alabama. There are so many businesses that are closed. This is not about party politics. This is about the people.”

Givan is one of 11 candidates to qualify for the Democratic nomination in the 2nd District. Friday is the last day of qualifying. The primary is March 5. Six Republicans have qualified.

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A federal court approved a congressional map in October that changed the 2nd District from a safe Republican district to one where Democrats have a chance to win. The district spans south Alabama from the Georgia line to the Mississippi line and includes all of Montgomery County and a northwest portion of Mobile County.

Givan, like several other candidates running, does not live in the 2nd District. The Constitution does not require members of the U.S. House to live in their districts. Givan, who lives in Birmingham, said she has roots in the 2nd District, including her work in the Legislature since 2010. She said she lived between Montgomery and Wetumpka when she was a little girl. She said many people asked her to run.

“People have seen my work when I stood up to the Republicans across this state and in the Legislature,” Givan said. “I’m running for the people. If the law had said or prescribed differently, I wouldn’t be running. But I feel I’m just as qualified to run for this seat as anybody else, whether I live here in Montgomery, or whether I live across the street, or up the street, or back the street, or anywhere else. It’s about who will come in here and represent the people.”

Givan said she would move to the 2nd District if she wins.

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Givan said she was proud to be the daughter of coal miner Leroy Givan, a Vietnam veteran who died in 2015, and Patricia Givan, a longtime secretary at the now closed Carraway Hospital in Birmingham and a two-time cancer survivor. Givan said she represented unions in her law practice and would fight for a higher minimum wage in Alabama.

Asked about the difficulty of finishing on top of such a large field of candidates, Givan said that was not a factor in her decision to run. She said she had traveled in the district and talked to voters, including those in rural areas.

“Today I’m proud as a Black woman seeking this office, ready to roll up my sleeves, ready to get out of these fine business suits, and put on my boots, whether they be walking boots or cowboy boots,” Givan said. “I’m ready to do it. I’m ready to walk those dirt roads with the people that I met in Monroe County last week. I’m ready to walk the walk and talk the talk. I’m not afraid and I won’t back down.”