How has the racial composition of Congress changed over the past few decades?
Critical Analysis
Find answers to the following questions using the visual above, any links below, your big brain, and your knowledge of American government and politics:
According to the visual above, in 1967 what percent of the congress was nonwhite?
According to the visual above, today what percent of the congress is nonwhite?
What do you think is the best explanation for that change?
AAPI is an acronym for Asian American and Pacific Islander and is a term used to describe people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent in the United State. The AAPI population is the fastest growing ethnic group in the country, and is expected to grow to over 40 million by 2060. What has happened to the AAPI population of Congress since 1967?
The visual above only extends up to show 140 members of congress. If you were to accurately represent Congress and extend this visual up to show all 535 members of Congress. all the White space in the visual would represent the 399 White members of Congress. In the United States, 57% of the population is white and 43% is nonwhite, yet 75% of Congress is white and 25% is nonwhite. What do you think explains that difference?
Newly elected Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) is the first Korean American in the Senate. Kim said that while he is proud to break barriers, he looks forward to the day when his role in Congress is no longer seen as groundbreaking or pioneering, but commonplace. The night he was sworn into Congress, Kim called his mother who was crying tears of joy. New Jersey’s other U.S. Senator is Cory Booker,and African-American. New Jersey is the most urban state and the fourth most diverse state in America. Explain the connection between New Jersey’s demographics and their Senate delegation.
In the U.S., there are more Hispanics than African-Americans. As of July 1, 2023, 19.5% of the U.S. population, or 65.2 million people, identify as Hispanic or Latino. This makes the Hispanic population the largest racial or ethnic minority in the United States. In 2022, 14.4% of the U.S. population, or approximately 47.9 million people, identified as Black. Although there are more Hispanics (Latinos) in American than there are Blacks, explain why there are more Congressional seats held by African Americans (61) than Hispanics (45).
Isabel Wilkerson writes that says that because American will soon be minority-majority (more non Caucasian-Americans, than Caucasian-Americans) that the U.S. will have to chose between Whiteness and Democracy. Explain whether you agree with Wilkerson’s claim.
Based on current trends, what year do you think the Congress will first be minority-majority; or do you think this will never happen?
If Congress were minority-majority today, describe three policy changes that you imagine would result from this demographic makeup.
Write and Discuss
Take ten minutes to write about the question at the top of the page and then discuss with your classmates.
Act on your Learning
Examine the racial breakdown of your state and your state’s congressional delegation. Share the results in class or online.
Get Creative
A metaphor is a figure of speech that implicitly compares two unrelated things, typically by stating that one thing is another. Examples of metaphors: “That chef is a magician.”
“His room is a pigsty.” “She has a heart of gold.” Write down a metaphor for the U.S. Congress:
Learning Extension
This very detailed but surprisingly naughty L.A. Times story has the details of the breakdown of the 119th Congress by race.
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