Blacks in Congress and the Presidency

District of Columbia

State Data Center Monthly Brief January 2009

by Black History: Blacks in Congress and the Joy Phillips Minwuyelet Azimeraw Presidency Daniel Sheres This year's (2009) Black History Month is well-to-do. However, they were shunned by especially historic as the nation welcomes southern whites and were never fully trusted the first Black President of the United States, by freedmen, who questioned whether they Barack Hussein Obama to office. As we pre- had Blacks' interest at heart. pare to add this historical fact to the body of data that chronicles our journey as a nation, They adopted various legislative strategies and we cannot help but reflect on the other 121 focused on three primary goals, namely, edu- Black leaders who have over time graced cation, political rights, and opportunity for eco- the floors of Congress as members of the nomic independence. As Richard Cain of South House or Senate. This brief report, present- Carolina (1877-1879) declared on the House ed by the State Data Center, brings you Floor, “All we asked of this country is to put no excerpts from the publication entitled 'Black barriers between us, to lay no stumbling blocks Americans in Congress: 1870-2007' pre- in our way; to give us freedom to accomplish pared under the direction of The Committee our destiny.” However, despite their distin- on House Administration of the U.S. House guished service and symbolic value they were of Representatives, and captions from not able to accomplish much. Key civil rights other sources. and constitutional amendments were enacted before a single Black served in Congress. 1870-1887

The first Blacks to arrive in Congress were Senator Hiram Revels of Mississippi and Representative Joseph Rainey of South Carolina. Their arrival was ranked among the greatest paradoxes in American history since just a decade earlier, these African Americans' congressional seats were held by white southern slave owners. From 1870 to 1887, there were 17 Black Congressmen who were referred to as ' the symbolic gen- photo credit: www.archives.gov eration,' symbolizing the triumph of the "First Colored Senator and Representatives in the Union and the determination of Radical 41st and 42nd Congress of the United States." Republicans to enact reforms to reshape the (Left to right) Senator Hiram Revels of Mississippi, political landscape of the South during Representatives Benjamin Turner of Alabama, Robert DeLarge of South Carolina, Josiah Walls of Florida, Reconstruction. Of the 17, eight were former Jefferson Long of Georgia, Joseph Rainey and Robert slaves and the others were mulatto, mixed B. Elliot of South Carolina. By Currier and Ives, 1872 race, or free black classes, and relatively BLACK HISTORY cont. on p. 2

DC STATE DATA Government of the District of Columbia Office of Planning State Data Center BLACK HISTORY from page 1 1929-1970 development of many who entered 1887-1929 Congress after 1970. Black membership in Congress resumed With the end of Reconstruction in 1877, in 1929 when Oscar De Priest entered the Durning this period the first African- ex-confederates and their Democratic House in 1929. All 13 Black members American women, Shirley Anita allies took power from the Republican- who entered in this period represented Chrisholm, entered congress represent- controlled state governments and effec- northern constituencies that were majority ing a newly reapportioned U.S. House tively eliminated Blacks from public black, urban districts, except for one, and district centered in Brooklyn, New York. office. From 1887 to 1901, just five Democrats, except for two. Both the New Blacks served in Congress as they Deal and World War II rekindled Black The 91st Congress (1969-1971) had the encountered an institution that was gen- political activism and paved the way for highest number of Black members (11) erally hostile to their presence and their the civil rights movement. since 1870, and they only accounted for legislative goals. They were relegated to 2 percent of the membership. But lower-tier committee assignments and In the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, Black change was coming (Figure 1). few connections to leadership at the cen- members of Congress embarked on a ter of power. long institutional apprenticeship, Fig. 1: Black Americans First Elected and attained more desirable com- to Congress by Decade, 1920-2007 As the years went by, it became more mittee assignments and leader- difficult for Blacks to win seats to ship positions. Their accomplish- Congress. Obstacles of the day included ments in Congress coincided with violence, intimidation and fraud by white the blossoming of the civil rights supremacists; state and local disfran- movement on the streets of the chisement laws that denied an increasing South, headed by Martin Luther number of Blacks the right to vote; and King, Jr., and his Southern Christian contested election challenges in leadership Conference (SCLC). Though Congress. However, after 1901, larger NAACP, the SCLC, and Black members social and historic forces created future of Congress shared the same goals, political opportunities for Blacks in the they differed on the tactics used to northern United States. Southern black achieve them. The greatest conse- political activism moved northwards quence of the civil rights move- changing the social and cultural dynamic ment is said to be its decisive of established Black communities in effect on the early political northern cities, as rural, agrarian Blacks were lured to industrialized cities by jobs and greater political freedom. 1971-2007 Advocacy groups like the National In the 1970s, the number of Black mem- Association for the Advancement of bers in Congress doubled that of the pre- Colored People (NAACP) were founded vious decade. The increase in their num- during this era, and they lobbied bers brought an increase in the momen- Congress on issues that were of interest tum to organize. This was the post-civil to the Black community. But without a rights movement generation of lawmak- single Black member in Congress to ers and they created a legislative advocate Black interest, Congress groundswell on Capitol Hill. The civil refused to enact legislation to improve rights acts of the 1960s and court- conditions for Blacks. ordered redistricting motivated Blacks photo credit: www.africanamericans.com and provided new opportunities for politi- Shirley A. Chisholm (Democratic Representative cal participation for millions. As a result, from New York) an advocate for minority rights was the first Black woman elected to Congress many more Blacks were elected to politi- (1969-1983). BLACK HISTORY cont. on page 3

2 DC STATE DATA CENTER BLACK HISTORY from page 2 1991), and Eleanor Holmes Norton (2007-2009), 41 Black Representatives cal office and to Congress. (Delegate, 1991-present). and one Black senator (Barack Obama) Of the 121 Blacks who have graced the The 1992 elections was particularly note- were representing constituencies with floors of Congress from 1870 to 2007, worthy as Carol Moseley-Braun of Illinois different geographies and varying spe- 86 members (71 percent) were seated in (1993-1999) was elected the first Black cial interest that defined their agendas. Congress after 1970. Among those seat- woman and the first African-American Additionally, gender diversity continued ed were names like Andrew Young of Democrat to serve in the U.S. Senate. to impact the Black members of Georgia (1973-1977), Barbara Jordan Congress. After the first Black woman in of Texas (1973-1979), and Harold Ford, In 1971, the Congressional Black Caucus Congress, Shirley Chrisholm, in 1968, Sr., of Tennessee (1975-1997). Also (CBC) was formed. Thirteen Black another 25 African American women among this group was Walter Fauntroy, Members of Congress led by Charles C. were elected to Congress, and played a the first African American to represent Diggs, Jr., of Michigan (1955-1980) significant role in shaping the history of the District of Columbia (Delegate 1971- formed the CBC to address the interests Blacks in Congress. of Black Americans, advance Black members within the institution, and pro- The First Black President mote and push legislation. Among their legislative achievements were the pas- November 4th, 2008, saw the election of sage of the Humphrey-Hawkins Act of Senator Barack Hussein Obama of 1978 to promote full employment and a Illinois to be the 44th President of the balanced budget, the 1983 Martin Luther United States and the first Black person King, Jr., federal holiday, and the 1986 to hold this office. Barack Obama, a imposed first sanctions against South graduate of Columbia University and Africa's all-white government for its prac- Harvard Law School, began his political tice of apartheid. career as a community activist in the South Side Chicago neighborhood in Black Congressional Members of this era 1985. He also practiced civil rights law had more experience in elective office, and lectured at the University of Chicago particularly in state legislatures, than Law School during that time. He was their predecessors. They held positions BLACK HISTORY cont. on page 4 on many committees and panels, including the most coveted committees, such photo credit: www.blackpast.org as Appropriations, Ways and Means, and Walter Edward Fauntroy (Delegate, 1971-1991, Rules, which dealt with legislative issues Democrat from the District of Columbia) affecting every facet of American life. Fourteen Black members chaired congressional committee between 1971 and the first session of the 110th Congress (2007-2009). For the first tine Black members rose into the ranks of party leadership, including Bill Gray as Majority Whip (1989-1991); J.C. Watts of Oklahoma, Republican Conference Chairman (1999-2003); and James Clyburn of South Carolina, Democratic Majority Whip (elected in 2007).

Despite all the inroads made by Black photo credit: www.current.com

photo credit: en.wikipedia.org Americans in Congress over more than a President Barack Obama, first Black president of the United States of America (elected Eleanor Holmes Norton (Delegate, 1991-pres- century, Blacks in Congress continue to November 4th, 2008 and sworn in as the 44th ent, Democrat from the District of Columbia) face new challenges. By the end of the president on January 20th, 2009) first session of the 110th Congress

DC STATE DATA CENTER 3 BLACK HISTORY from page 3 benefits for veterans, energy efficiency, elected to the Illinois state senate in nuclear proliferation, and government 1996 and served in that capacity through transparency. In February 2007, Senator 2004, with main accomplishments being Obama announced his intention to run as the passing of the state earned income a candidate for the 2008 Democratic tax credit and an expansion of early presidential nomination. Senator Obama childhood education. campaigned on a platform of hope and change, and electrified the American In 2004, Barack Obama joined a crowd- people with 'Yes We Can,' to become the ed field of candidates in the Democratic Democratic presidential nominee who primary for an open seat just vacated by went on to defeat the Republican chal- U.S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald, a lenger, Senator John Mc Cain of Arizona Republican, who retired. Barack Obama on November 4, 2008 with 53 percent of gained 53 percent of the votes beating the votes. out other more well known candidates. It was during that campaign that Barack January 20, 2009 saw the largest ever Obama emerged as a national figure, attendance at an inauguration in the his- delivering a rousing keynote address on tory of the United States with a crowd the second night of the Democratic estimated at 1.8 million. In his inaugural National Convention in the summer of address, President Barack Obama asked 2004. In that speech, he dared the nation to begin the task of remaking Americans to have “the audacity of America. He said, “Let it be said by our hope.” He explained this to be “It's the children's children that when we were hope of slaves sitting around a fire tested we refused to let this journey end, singing freedom songs. The hope of that we did not turn back nor did we fal- immigrants setting out for distant ter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon shores……. The hope of a skinny kid and God's grace upon us, we carried with a family name who believes that forth that great gift of freedom and deliv- America has a place for him too.” Barack ered it safely to future generations.” Obama won the elections by a landslide 70 percent vote and became the U.S. This day added another page to the Senator from Illinois in the 109th American history books, and more so, to Congress (2005-2007). Black history and Black History Month for- ever. It was indeed a proud moment for During Obama's tenure in the Senate he people of all races and ethnicity all over focused on many issues. Among these the world, but especially for Black issues were lobbying and ethics reform, Americans whose numbers were estimated at 38.7 million or 12.8 percent of the U.S. population in 2007. For additional information contact: D.C. Office of Planning Welcome Mr. President and the Obama State Data Center 801 North Capitol Street, NE family to the White House and to the Suite 4000 District of Columbia, you have just Washington, DC 20002 increased our population by four persons. (202) 442 7600 (202) 442-7638 FAX www.planning.dc.gov

Government of the District of Columbia

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