The Black Women of the US Congress: Learning from Descriptive Data

Black women have been historically excluded from Congress and the policymaking power available in the institution. This essay shares details about the 52 Black women who have navigated this raced and gendered institution (Hawkesworth 2003) since 1969. We discuss data on these Black congresswomen, including, but not limited to, their educational attainment, occupations prior to serving in Congress, and ties to Black Greek Letter organizations. We argue that this descriptive data will prompt new questions for legislative scholars and open conversations about disciplinary norms and assumptions which may need revision in light of Congress’ increasing diversification.