Triaging Representation: Congressional Black Caucus and Anti-Black Governance

• In Event: Representation in the United States Congress

Abstract

How does the legislative behavior of the Congressional Black Caucus explain the stubbornness of racial oppression? I argue that the CBC, which was formed in the aftermath of the Civil Rights Movement, had a mandate to be a force for radical action but their entry was simultaneous with racial realignment in Congress. However, to remain relevant to Black communities, the Caucus had to shore up their reputation as racial representatives. To test the idea that the Caucus has had to both try to "represent the race" while being unable to broker deals in Congress, I use historical data drawn from the Congressional Bills Project and the CongressData dataset, I show that while the types of bills that the Caucus supports remains highly keyed in to issues of racial justice, the types of policies that they are able to marshall to passage are less and less impactful as we get further into the 21st century.

Author

• Christian Hosam, Wellesley College