Congressional Black Caucus Chairmen and Chairwomen, 1971–Present
In 1971, 13 individuals created the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC).1 The CBC became a focal point for addressing issues important to blacks nationally by acting as an advocacy group for African Americans within the institution and forming a potent bloc for pushing legislative items.2 “Many of the [early] Black Caucus members came out of the heat of the civil rights struggle,” William (Bill) Gray III of Pennsylvania observed. “We have a group of new members whose strategies were shaped in the post-civil rights movement—who use leverage within the system. We see ourselves not as civil rights leaders, but as legislators…the pioneers had made it possible for us to be technicians.”3
| Member Name | Congress/Session | Years of Service |
|---|---|---|
| Charles Coles Diggs, Jr. | 92nd–1st Session | 1971–1972 |
| Louis Stokes | 92nd–2nd Session | 1972–1973 |
| Louis Stokes | 93rd–1st Session | 1973–1974 |
| Charles B. Rangel | 93rd–2nd Session | 1974–1975 |
| Charles B. Rangel | 94th–1st Session | 1975–1976 |
| Yvonne Brathwaite Burke | 94th–2nd Session | 1976–1977 |
| Parren James Mitchell | 95th | 1977–1979 |
| Cardiss Collins | 96th | 1979–1981 |
| Walter Edward Fauntroy | 97th | 1981–1983 |
| Julian Carey Dixon | 98th | 1983–1985 |
| George Thomas (Mickey) Leland | 99th | 1985–1987 |
| Mervyn Malcolm Dymally | 100th | 1987–1989 |
| Ronald V. Dellums | 101st | 1989–1991 |
| Edolphus Towns | 102nd | 1991–1993 |
| Kweisi Mfume | 103rd | 1993–1995 |
| Donald M. Payne | 104th | 1995–1997 |
| Maxine Waters | 105th | 1997–1999 |
| James E. Clyburn | 106th | 1999–2001 |
| Eddie Bernice Johnson | 107th | 2001–2003 |
| Elijah E. Cummings | 108th | 2003–2005 |
| Melvin L. Watt | 109th | 2005–2007 |
| Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick | 110th | 2007–2009 |
| Barbara Lee | 111th | 2009–2011 |
| Emanuel Cleaver II | 112th | 2011–2013 |
| Marcia L. Fudge | 113th | 2013–2015 |
| George Kenneth (G.K.) Butterfield, Jr. | 114th | 2015–2017 |
| Cedric Richmond | 115th | 2017–2019 |
Footnotes
1According to Robert Singh, “The central function of caucuses is to bring together legislators with shared interests, backgrounds, and policy goals.” Robert Singh, The Congressional Black Caucus: Racial Politics in the U.S. Congress, (Thousand Oaks, California: Sage, 1998): 58. As internal congressional organizations, caucuses like the CBC formed in great part to pursue a collective agenda with a “strength in numbers” strategy.
2Research materials for the Congressional Black Caucus can be found at the following location:
Congressional Black Caucus Collection
Howard University
Moorland-Spingarn Research Center
500 Howard Place, NW
Washington, DC 20059
http://library.howard.edu/MSRC
3Quoted in Singh, The Congressional Black Caucus: 51.