Expanded roster of legislators and constituencies

In its mission to serve as a counterweight to the GOP agenda, the Congressional Black Caucus will have an expanded roster and constituency. According to the CBC website, the organization currently has 60 active members across the House and Senate, “representing more than 120 million Americans, 25.3 percent of the total U.S. population, and more than 20 million African-Americans, 41 percent of the total U.S. African-American population.” That representation will grow in the next Congress, as the number of members expands to 62 and the areas represented grow. For example, Janelle Bynum was recently confirmed as the winner of the race to represent Oregon’s 5^th Congressional District, which will make her the first Black representative from the state. And for the first time, the caucus will include two Black women in the Senate after Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland both won their Senate races this year.

The new and returning Black legislators who make up the Congressional Black Caucus are thus a powerful block within Washington and represent a significant portion of the American population. But facing the political reality of conservative control of the federal government for the near future, the CBC will have its work cut out for it as it promotes and defends policies that benefit Black people and Americans of all communities across the country.

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