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Congressional Black Caucus | |
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| Chair | Yvette Clarke (NY–9) |
| Founder | 13 founding members |
| Founded | January 4, 1969 (as Democratic Select Committee)[1] March 30, 1971; 54 years ago (1971-03-30)[2] |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| International affiliation | Congressional Black Caucus Foundation |
| Colors | Red Black Blue |
| Seats in theHouse | 55 / 435 (plus 2 non-voting) |
| Seats in theSenate | 4 / 100 |
| Seats in theHouse Democratic Caucus | 55 / 213 |
| Seats inHouse Republican Conference | 0 / 222 |
| Predecessor | Democratic Select Committee (DSC) |
| Website | |
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TheCongressional Black Caucus (CBC) is made up of Black members of theUnited States Congress. RepresentativeYvette Clarke fromNew York, the current chairperson, succeededSteven Horsford fromNevada in 2025. Although most members belong to theDemocratic Party, the CBC founders envisioned it as a non-partisan organization, and there have been several instances of bipartisan collaboration withRepublicans.[3][4][5][6]
The predecessor to thecaucus was founded in January 1969 as theDemocratic Select Committee by a group of black members of theHouse of Representatives, includingCharles Diggs of Michigan,Shirley Chisholm of New York,Louis Stokes ofOhio, andBill Clay ofMissouri.[7] As a result of Congressional redistricting and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, more black representatives were elected to the House (increasing from nine to thirteen), encouraging them to establish a formal organization.[7] Diggs, who is acknowledged that to have proposed the Democratic Select Committee,[7] would serve as its chairman from 1969 to 1971.[7]
During a meeting between committee members on February 2, 1971, a motion put forward by Clay to transform the Democratic Select Committee into a formal, non-partisan caucus for African American U.S. Congress members was accepted.[8] During the same meeting, the organization, on the motion ofCharles Rangel of New York,[8] then changed its name to the Congressional Black Caucus.[8] The thirteen founding members of the caucus wereShirley Chisholm,Bill Clay,George W. Collins,John Conyers,Ron Dellums,Charles Diggs,Augustus Hawkins,Ralph Metcalfe,Parren Mitchell,Robert N. C. Nix Sr.,Charles Rangel,Louis Stokes, and Washington, D.C., delegateWalter Fauntroy.[9] Diggs served as its first chairman from 1971 to 1972.[7] Chisholm referred to the group as "unbought and unbossed".[10] Five founding members of the CBC were also members ofPrince Hall Freemasonry, an African-American branch ofFreemasonry that became involved in civil rights: Stokes, Conyers, Rangel, Hawkins and Metcalfe.
PresidentRichard Nixon refused to meet with the newly formed group, leading the CBC to boycott the 1971State of the Union address. After their first joint press conference, Nixon finally met with the CBC on March 25, 1971. The Caucus presented the President with a 32-page document including "recommendations to eradicate racism, provide quality housing for black families, and promote the full engagement of blacks in government".[7] All the members of the caucus were included on themaster list of Nixon political opponents.[citation needed]
On June 5, 1972, shortly before the1972 Democratic National Convention nominatedGeorge McGovern for president, the CBC released two documents: theBlack Declaration of Independence and theBlack Bill of Rights.[10]Louis Stokes read a preamble and both documents into the record of the House of Representatives.[7] The Black Bill of Rights includes sections on jobs and the economy, foreign policy, education, housing, public health, minority enterprise, drugs, prison reform, black representation in government, civil rights, voting rights in the District of Columbia, and the military.[11] These documents were inspired by theNational Black Political Convention and its own manifesto,The Gary Declaration: Black Politics at the Crossroads[12] (also called the Black Agenda).
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In 1977, the organization was involved in the founding ofTransAfrica, an education and advocacy affiliate that was formed to act as a resource on information on the African continent and its Diaspora.[13] They worked closely with this organization to start the national anti-apartheid movement in the US,Free South Africa Movement (characterized by sit-ins, student protests, it became the longest-lasting civil disobedience movement in U.S. history) and to devise the legislative strategy for theComprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 that was subsequently passed overRonald Reagan's veto.[13][14]
In late 1994, afterRepublicansattained a majority in the House, the House passed House Resolution 6 on January 4, 1995, which prohibited “the establishment or continuation of any legislative service organization..."[15] This decision was aimed at 28 organizations, which received taxpayer funding and occupied offices at the Capitol, including the CBC. Then-chairmanKweisi Mfume protested the decision. The CBC reconstituted as a Congressional Member Organization.[16]
The caucus is sometimes invited to theWhite House to meet with the president.[17] It requests such a meeting at the beginning of each Congress.[17]
During the2020 George Floyd protests, the CBC providedHouse members withstoles made fromkente to be worn for an8:46-longmoment of silence before introducing theJustice in Policing Act of 2020.[18]
Thecaucus describes its goals as "positively influencing the course of events pertinent to African Americans and others of similar experience and situation", and "achieving greater equity for persons of African descent in the design and content of domestic and international programs and services."[citation needed]
The CBC encapsulates these goals in the following priorities: closing the achievement and opportunity gaps in education, assuring quality health care for every American, focusing on employment and economic security, ensuring justice for all, retirement security for all Americans, increasing welfare funds, and increasing equity in foreign policy.[19]
RepresentativeEddie Bernice Johnson (D–TX), has said:
The Congressional Black Caucus is one of the world's most esteemed bodies, with a history of positive activism unparalleled in our nation's history. Whether the issue is popular or unpopular, simple or complex, the CBC has fought for thirty years to protect the fundamentals of democracy. Its impact is recognized throughout the world. The Congressional Black Caucus is probably the closest group of legislators on the Hill. We work together almost incessantly, we are friends and, more importantly, a family of freedom fighters. Our diversity makes us stronger, and the expertise of all of our members has helped us be effective beyond our numbers.
Mark Anthony Neal, a professor ofAfrican-American studies and popular culture atDuke University, wrote a column in late 2008 that the Congressional Black Caucus and other African-American-centered organizations are still needed, and should take advantage of "the political will thatObama's campaign has generated."[20]
TheCongressional Black Caucus PAC is apolitical action committee founded as a political arm of the caucus, aiming "to increase the number of Black Members of the US Congress...support Non-Black Candidates who will champion the needs and interests of the Black Community" and increase the "participation of Black Americans in the political process".[21]Gregory Meeks (D-NY-5) chairs the PAC. The CBCPAC is known for itsmoderate-lean.[22] The PAC caused controversy when it backed incumbentMichael Capuano, a white man, over challengerAyanna Pressley, a black woman who ultimately defeated him.[23] Two years later, it backedEliot Engel, a white incumbent, overJamaal Bowman, a black challenger who went on to defeat him.[24]
HuffPost reporters questioned how endorsements were made, noting that the executive board included corporatelobbyists over CBC members.[25] RepresentativeBrenda Lawrence (D-MI-14) criticized the PAC's endorsement policies in 2020 and called for it to be reevaluated.[26]Color of Change, acivil rights advocacynonprofit group, released a letter in 2016 calling on the CBCPAC to cut ties with lobbyists from industries that are "notorious for the mistreatment and exploitation of Black people" includingprivate prisons,pharmaceutical companies,student loan creditors, andbig tobacco.[27]
The caucus has grown steadily as more black members have been elected. At its formal founding in 1971, the caucus had thirteen members.[7] As of 2023, it had 55 members, including two who are non-voting members of the House, representing theDistrict of Columbia and theU.S. Virgin Islands.
As of 2025, there have been twelve black senators since the caucus's founding. The ten black U.S. senators, all Democrats, who are or have been members of the Congressional Black Caucus are Senator Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, elected in 2024 (currently serving), Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, elected in 2024 (currently serving), SenatorCory Booker of New Jersey, elected in 2013 (currently serving), SenatorRaphael Warnock of Georgia, elected in 2021 (currently serving), and SenatorKamala Harris of California, elected in 2016, who resigned in 2021 to take on the vice presidency; former senatorsCarol Moseley Braun (1993–1999),Barack Obama (2005–2008), andRoland Burris (2008–2010), all of Illinois; former senatorLaphonza Butler (2023–2024) of California, and former senatorMo Cowan (2013) of Massachusetts.[citation needed]
Burris was appointed byIllinois governorRod Blagojevich in December 2008 to fill Obama's seat for the remaining two years of his Senate term after Obama was electedpresident of the United States. Cowan was appointed to temporarily serve until a special election afterJohn Kerry vacated his Senate seat to become U.S. secretary of state.[citation needed]
SenatorEdward Brooke, a Republican who represented Massachusetts in the 1960s and 1970s, was not a member of the CBC. In 2013, SenatorTim Scott, Republican of South Carolina, also chose not to join the CBC after being appointed to fillJim DeMint's Senate seat.
The caucus is officially non-partisan; but, in practice, the vast majority of Black politicians elected to Congress since the CBC's founding have beenDemocrats.
Twelve BlackRepublicans have been elected to Congress since the caucus was founded in 1971. Of those, onlyDelegateMelvin H. Evans of the Virgin Islands (1979–1981), RepresentativeGary Franks of Connecticut (1991–1997), RepresentativeAllen West of Florida (2011–2013), and RepresentativeMia Love of Utah (2015–2019) joined the CBC.
Edward Brooke was the only serving Black U.S. senator when the CBC was founded in 1971, but he never joined the group and sometimes clashed with its leaders.[28] In 1979Melvin H. Evans, a non-voting delegate from the Virgin Islands, became the first Republican member in the group's history.Gary Franks was the first Republican voting congressman to join in 1991, though he was at times excluded from CBC strategy sessions, skipped meetings, and threatened to quit the caucus.[29]
J. C. Watts did not join the CBC when he entered Congress in 1995, and after Franks left Congress in 1997, no Republicans joined the CBC for fourteen years untilAllen West joined the caucus in 2011, though fellow freshman congressmanTim Scott declined to join.[30] After West was defeated for re-election, the CBC became a Democrat-only caucus once again in 2013.[31]
In2014, two black Republicans were elected to the House. Upon taking office,Will Hurd from Texas declined to join the caucus, whileMia Love from Utah, the first black Republican congresswoman, joined.[32]
In 2021, newly elected black RepublicanByron Donalds was blocked from joining the CBC.[33][34]
All past and present members of the caucus have been Black.[citation needed] In 2006, while running for Congress in aTennessee district which is 60% black,Steve Cohen, who is white, pledged to apply for membership in order to represent his constituents. However, after his election, his application was refused.[35] Although the bylaws of the caucus do not make race a prerequisite for membership, former and current members of the caucus agreed that the group should remain "exclusively black". In response to the decision, Cohen referred to his campaign promise as "a socialfaux pas" because "It's their caucus and they do things their way. You don't force your way in. You need to be invited."[35]
RepresentativeLacy Clay, a Democrat from Missouri and the son of RepresentativeBill Clay, a co-founder of the caucus, said: "Mr. Cohen asked for admission, and he got his answer. He is white and the caucus is black. It is time to move on. We have racial policies to pursue and we are pursuing them, as Mr. Cohen has learned. It is an unwritten rule. It is understood." Clay also issued the following statement:
Quite simply, Representative Cohen will have to accept what the rest of the country will have to accept—there has been an unofficial Congressional White Caucus for over 200 years, and now it is our turn to say who can join 'the club.' He does not, and cannot, meet the membership criteria unless he can change his skin color. Primarily, we are concerned with the needs and concerns of the black population, and we will not allow white America to infringe on those objectives.[36]
Later the same week, RepresentativeTom Tancredo, a Republican from Colorado, objected to the continued existence of the CBC as well as theDemocraticCongressional Hispanic Caucus and theRepublicanCongressional Hispanic Conference arguing that "It is utterly hypocritical for Congress to extol the virtues of a color-blind society while officially sanctioning caucuses that are based solely on race. If we are serious about achieving the goal of a colorblind society, Congress should lead by example and end these divisive, race-based caucuses."[37]
Prior to 2017, no one had attempted to be in both the CBC and theCongressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC). In the2016 House elections, Afro-Dominican State SenatorAdriano Espaillat was elected to an open seat after twice trying to unseat CBC founderCharlie Rangel (who also has Puerto Rican ancestry) in the Democratic primary. Espaillat signaled that he wanted to join the CBC as well as the CHC, but it was reported that he was rebuffed, and it was insinuated that the cause was bad blood over the attempted primary challenges of Rangel.[38]
In the2018 elections, Afro-Latino DemocratAntonio Delgado was elected and joined the CBC, making no public effort to join the CHC as well. In the2020 elections, Afro-Puerto Rican Democratic candidateRitchie Torres published anop-ed claiming that he was prevented from joining both the CBC and CHC as he wished to do,[39] a claim which was denied by then-CBC chairKaren Bass.[40] After being elected to Congress, Torres successfully joined both the CBC and CHC.
The following U.S. representatives have chaired the Congressional Black Caucus:[41]
| Start | End | Chair | District |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | 1972 | Charles Diggs | MI-13 |
| 1972 | 1974 | Louis Stokes | OH-21 |
| 1974 | 1976 | Charlie Rangel | NY-19 |
| 1976 | 1977 | Yvonne Burke | CA-28 |
| 1977 | 1979 | Parren Mitchell | MD-07 |
| 1979 | 1981 | Cardiss Collins | IL-07 |
| 1981 | 1983 | Walter Fauntroy | DC-AL |
| 1983 | 1985 | Julian Dixon | CA-28 |
| 1985 | 1987 | Mickey Leland | TX-18 |
| 1987 | 1989 | Mervyn Dymally | CA-31 |
| 1989 | 1991 | Ron Dellums | CA-08 |
| 1991 | 1993 | Ed Towns | NY-11 |
| 1993 | 1995 | Kweisi Mfume | MD-07 |
| 1995 | 1997 | Don Payne | NJ-10 |
| 1997 | 1999 | Maxine Waters | CA-35 |
| 1999 | 2001 | Jim Clyburn | SC-06 |
| 2001 | 2003 | Eddie Bernice Johnson | TX-30 |
| 2003 | 2005 | Elijah Cummings | MD-07 |
| 2005 | 2007 | Mel Watt | NC-12 |
| 2007 | 2009 | Carolyn Kilpatrick | MI-13 |
| 2009 | 2011 | Barbara Lee | CA-09 |
| 2011 | 2013 | Emanuel Cleaver | MO-05 |
| 2013 | 2015 | Marcia Fudge | OH-11 |
| 2015 | 2017 | G. K. Butterfield | NC-01 |
| 2017 | 2019 | Cedric Richmond | LA-02 |
| 2019 | 2021 | Karen Bass | CA-37 |
| 2021 | 2023 | Joyce Beatty | OH-03 |
| 2023 | 2025 | Steven Horsford | NV-04 |
| 2025 | present | Yvette Clarke | NY-09 |
Source[43]
The Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls is a separate caucus of the United States Congress founded in 2016 to advance issues and legislation important to the welfare of women and girls of African descent.[44][45]
