With the current Black Lives Matter movement within the United States and the recent election, I researched the representation of African Americans within the United States Congress. Throughout the years, African Americans have started to gain more and more representation within the United States government. Here is a chart showing the subtle increase of African American members over time in Congress:
From the chart, the 116th congress which was in 2018 “was the most diverse ever with 57 members out of 535 being African American” (History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives). The inequality that African Americans were experiencing reflected on the injustices that were occurring throughout the United States. Without proper representation in the United States government, changes could not be vocalized by members of the black community. During the civil rights movement, African Americans were trying to make changes to get equal representation and have laws modified. It wasn’t until 1870 that the first African Americans were elected into Congress (History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives). African Americans are not the only race and gender that is experiencing injustices and poor representation within the United States government. Since the start of Congress and the United States, white men have run the government as president and congress members. Through changes and movements by many genders and races, African Americans as well as women have been able to take part in Congress. The social injustices of improper representation of African Americans and even women in the United States government have reflected on the injustices within society like abortion, education, and health care. Changes are trying to be made, but without members of the community wanting to make those changes in government minimal laws will be changed or modified.
A text that relates to the inequality of African American as well as women and other races is “Can the Subaltern Speak”. As stated on the module page titled “Spivak’s ‘Can the Subaltern Speak’”, “Subalterns are fragmented groups of marginalized people who are without power; subalterns have no access to the power structures under which they live.” Even though government has changed throughout the years, in the early days of Congress, African Americans, women, and other races had no access to power. Their voices were limited to what white men in Congress were voting on and doing for the United States government. Currently within the United States Government, Congress is the most diverse in terms of race and gender. Congress has become more diverse, but there are still systemic injustices and inequality throughout the government and the United States that can possibly be changed due to more diverse voices being heard.
Article and Link to a video:
Citations:
History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Historian, Black Americans in Congress, 1870–2007. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2008. “Black-American Members by Congress, 1870- Present,” https://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/BAIC/Historical-Data/Black-American-Representatives-and-Senators-by-Congress/ Accessed 13 February 13 2021.
Schaeffer, Katherine. “Racial, Ethnic Diversity Increases Yet Again with the 117th Congress.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 28 Jan. 2021, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/01/28/racial-ethnic-diversity-increases-yet-again-with-the-117th-congress/. Accessed 27 March 2021.
Shayanne Gal, Andy Kiersz. “26 Simple Charts to Show Friends and Family Who Aren’t Convinced Racism Is Still a Problem in America.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 8 July 2020, www.businessinsider.com/us-systemic-racism-in-charts-graphs-data-2020-6#black-americans-have-historically-been-underrepresented-in-the-highest-echelons-of-government-as-well-4. Accessed 13 February 2021.
I really liked how you related the topic to the reading in class. I think Spivak’s writing is a perfect example of this underrepresentation that has been around for far too long in elected officials. For so long now, the minority groups in this country have been suffering the most, yet they have had little to no path to change. Their voices were not being heard because they did not hold the platforms necessary to enact the change needed. The shift towards having a more diverse congress is a great step in the right direction, but it is a trend that needs to continue given the great diversity that we have across the nation.