Introduction

Reviewing quantitative evidence can be a dry and boring exercise. However, the quantitative representation of racism in our two-party system enables us to visualize with crystal clarity where the preponderance of the racial divide problem lies.

Quantitative
1 : of, relating to, or expressible in terms of quantity. 2 : of, relating to, or involving the measurement of quantity or amount.
— Merriam-Webster Dictionary

The Republican Party pretends that it is an inclusive organization and has the interests of its African-Americans constituency at heart. Nothing could be further from the truth. Why do I say that?

The sparse number of African-Americans elected to office by Republicans proves beyond any doubt that the Republican Party does not want African-Americans representing African-Americans in our political system.  Republicans want to continue having White politicians representing African-Americans. It’s a political form of representational Apartheid. 

There are 535 Congressional seats when you add the House and Senate together. The party line breakdown is as follows:

Republican Black Congressional Representation

3 members Congress, 0.6%:

Donalds, Byron; Owens, Burgess; Scott, Tim

Democratic Black Congressional Representation

59 members of Congress, 11.2%:

Adams, Alma; Allred, Colin; Bass, Karen; Beatty, Joyce; Bishop, Sanford Dixon, Jr.; Blunt Rochester, Lisa; Bowman, Jamaal; Brown, Anthony Gregory; Bush, Cori; Butterfield, George Kenneth (G.K.), Jr.; Carson, André; Clarke, Yvette Diane; Cleaver, Emanuel, Ii; Clyburn, James Enos; Davis, Danny K.; Delgado, Antonio; Demings, Valdez; Evans, Dwight; Fudge, Marcia L.; Green, Al; Hastings, Alcee Lamar 34; Hayes, Jahana; Horsford, Steven; Jackson Lee, Sheila; Jeffries, Hakeem; Johnson, Eddie Bernice; Johnson, Hank; Jones, Mondaire; Kelly, Robin L.; Lawrence, Brenda L.; Lawson, Alfred, Jr.; Lee, Barbara; Mcbath, Lucy; Mceachin, Aston Donald; Meeks, Gregory W.; Mfume, Kweisi; Moore, Gwendolynne S. (Gwen); Neguse, Joseph; Norton, Eleanor Holmes; Omar, Ilhan; Payne, Donald, Jr.; Plaskett, Stacey E.; Pressley, Ayanna; Richmond, Cedric; Rush, Bobby L.; Scott, David; Scott, Robert C.; Sewell, Terri; Strickland, Marilyn; Thompson, Bennie; Torres, Ritchie; Underwood, Lauren; Veasey, Marc; Waters, Maxine; Watson Coleman, Bonnie; Williams, Nikema; Wilson, Frederica; Booker, Cory Anthony; Warnock, Raphael Gamaliel

 Quantitative Perspective: African-American Congressional Representation Along Party Lines 

13.4% of the US population is African-American. 

House Representation

There are currently 430 House members, with 5 vacant seats due to members being “promoted” to Biden Cabinet and Staff positions, and one member who died in early April. Of those 430 House members:

218 Democrats —  58 of them are African-Americans.

African-Americans hold 26.6% of Democratic House seats, double the percentage of the 13.4% US African-American population.

212 Republicans — only 2 of them are African Americans.

African-Americans hold 0.9% of House Republican seats, an abysmal percentage when compared to the US African-American population.

Senatorial Representation

There are 100 members of the Senate.

50 Democrats (or Independents who caucus with Democrats) — 3 are African-American

African-Americans hold 6% of Democratic Senate seats, half the percentage of the 13.4% US African-American population.

50 Republicans — 1 is African-American

African-Americans hold 2% of Republican Senate seats, one-sixth when compared to the 13.4% US African-American population.

Conclusion

Although Democrats have work to do to get to full African-American representation in the Senate, they compensate somewhat by over-achieving with African-American representation in the House. Republicans have disgraceful African-American representation in both Houses of Congress.

This quantitative evidence demonstrates the magnitude of the racial divide between the parties. Remember, the racial divide is driven by Republican politicians but they are driven by the people who voted for them.

We will never solve this racial divide problem until Republicans take the representation of the African-American community seriously. It will take a courageous effort by Republican constituents and elected politicians alike to accomplish this objective.  Sadly, the paucity of courageous Republicans is also abysmal, so I’m not optimistic about any short-term or mid-term fix.

At best, any institutional change is a generation away and will only be corrected by the Republican party when it believes it has to do so for the survival of the party. The only thing the rest of us can do is exert political influence to convince the Republican Party that its very existence is dependent upon increasing the number of African-Americans in political office.