In the words of my girl Crissle West, “Words mean things,” and the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is learning this lesson on the fly as they are being challenged to confront long-established bylaws that allow only African-American members of congress to join the group. With only three months on the job, the Dominican-born New York City congressman, Adriano Espaillat, who identifies as Afro-Latino has hit the ground running to build strategic alliances for the benefit of his constituents. Espaillat, who already joined the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, has expressed interest in becoming a member of the CBC. The question is, does the former state assemblyman and first Dominican-American ever elected to Congress, qualify for membership under the organization's bylaws?

Espaillat, who has not filed a formal petition for membership, told Politico, “I’m in discussions with some of the members from my state and with the (CBC) leadership.” The CBC, who discussed the congressman’s potential membership during their weekly meeting on Wednesday, has yet to reach a conclusion to the question of what constitutes African-American.

Some feel that the caucus's reluctance to make a decision regarding Espaillat’s membership is more political than philosophical. According to Politico, some members are holding a grudge against the incumbent congressman who challenged former Rep. and founding CBC member, Charles Rangel, who recently retired.Although CBC chairman, Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), denies this assertion, several members confirmed the friction.

Rumors aside, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) says that the CBC will carefully review their bylaws as the implications of the decision will have a long-lasting impact. “Now [in Congress], we’ve been different in that you were either in the Black Caucus or you were in the Hispanic Caucus,” he said. “And so the question is what happens in this scenario. And I guess he’s the first Dominican to [apply] and we’re just trying to figure it out.”

Never miss a headline! Sign up for Blavity's daily newsletter.

Adriano Espaillat

Get relevant content delivered to you once a week