November 28, 2018 The Skanner Portland & Seattle Page 9
News
REPORT: None of the 28 Top Staffers in House and Senate are People of Color
By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Correspondent
WASHINGTON – The Joint Center for
Political and Economic Studies has re-
leased six detailed reports on the trou-
bling lack of racial diversity among the
167 top staff in the Washington, D.C.
offices of six congressional delegations
– Delaware, Maryland, Mississippi,
Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia.
Of the 12 U.S. Senators in the six
states, none had an African American
top staffer despite representing signifi-
cant Black populations.
In fact, the reports note that the only
top staffer of color for any of the sena-
tors was a Latino top staffer for Missis-
sippi GOP Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith.
“
The 116th Congress
will be the most
diverse in the na-
tion’s history
The lack of diversity in Tennessee
was even more glaring with none of
the 28 top staffers working for the U.S.
House and U.S. Senate Members being
people of color despite people of col-
or making up 25 percent of the state’s
population, The Joint Center noted in a
news release.
“These numbers are alarming but
there is no better time than right now
to change the trajectory of diversity
among top staff and mid-level staff,”
said Spencer Overton, President of the
Joint Center.
“In the coming months, hundreds of
new staffers will be hired by new Mem-
bers, new Chairs of U.S. House commit-
tees and other Members,” Overton said.
“The 116th Congress will be the most
diverse in the nation’s history and it’s
imperative that the diversity among
senior and mid-level staff reflect the di-
versity of America,” said Don Bell, the
director of the Black Talent Initiative at
the Joint Center.
“Any individual seeking to hold a
leadership position in the 116th Con-
gress must be committed to taking
immediate and decisive action that en-
sures that Congress is truly represen-
tative of the people it serves,” Bell said.
Other key statistics from the reports
include:
• In Tennessee, Representative Steve
Cohen (TN-9) has no top staff of color
but represents a district that is 75.7
percent people of color and, in 2016,
African Americans accounted for 82
percent of Democratic turnout in his
district.
Across the country, only five other
Members of Congress who lack top
staff of color represent districts
with higher numbers of residents
of color.
Just over 28 percent of the Tennes-
see delegation’s top staffers are
women.
• In Pennsylvania, less than 10 percent
of the top staffers are people of color
even though 23 percent of the state’s
population are people of color.
Of the 18 elected Members of the
Pennsylvania delegation, just three
have at least one top staffer of col-
or.
• In Maryland, people of color make up
almost half of the state’s population
but less than 25 percent of the top
staff of House and Senate members.
African Americans accounted for
47 percent of the Democratic Par-
ty’s voters in Maryland in 2016, but
they account for less than 15 per-
cent of the top staffers who work
for the Democratic Members of the
Maryland delegation.
None the nine top staffers who
work for Senator Ben Cardin, Sen-
ator Chris Van Hollen, or House
Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer are
“These numbers are alarming but there is no better time than right now to change the trajectory of
diversity among top staff and mid-level staff,” said Spencer Overton, President of the Joint Center for
Political and Economic Studies.
people of color.
• In Mississippi, only 18.7 percent of
top staff are people of color despite
making up 42.5 percent of the state’s
population.
While African Americans make
up over 37 percent of Mississippi’s
population, none of six top staffers
and only 11 percent of the mid-level
staffers who work for the U.S. Sena-
tors from Mississippi are Black.
African Americans accounted for
13 percent of the Republican Par-
ty’s voters in Mississippi in 2016
but accounted for none of the 14
top staffers who work for Republi-
can Members of the state’s congres-
sional delegation.
57.4 percent of African Americans
in Mississippi live in a district rep-
resented by a U.S. House Member
and two U.S. Senators without any
Black top staffers.
• In Delaware, people of color account
for over a third of Delaware’s popu-
lation (36.4 percent), but just 20 per-
cent of the top staffers.
African Americans accounted for
a third of the Democratic Party’s
voters in Delaware in 2016, but
they account for none of the seven
top staffers and only three of the
40 mid-level staffers who work for
Delaware’s two Democratic U.S.
Senators—Tom Carper and Chris
Coons.
• In Virginia, less than 15 percent of the
top staffers are people of color even
though 36.7 percent of the state’s pop-
ulation are people of color.
Of the 13 elected Members of the
Virginia delegation, just four have
at least one top staffer of color.
African Americans accounted for
37 percent of the Democratic Par-
ty’s voters in Virginia in 2016, but
they accounted for none of the top
staff of Virginia’s two Democratic
U.S. Senators, 13 percent of Senator
Warner’s mid-level staffers, and
none of Senator Kaine’s mid-level
staffers.
The reports examined the racial di-
versity of staff directors of full commit-
tees as well as personal office chiefs of
staff, legislative directors, and commu-
nications directors.
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