Eliot Spitzer will undoubtedly be stepping down. The Lt. Governor of New York, David Patterson, will become New York’s first black governor - and only the third black governor elected in the US, following Virginia’s Douglass Wilder and Massachusetts’ Deval Patrick.
How is it there have been 121 black members of Congress since 1870 and only 3 black governors since 1989?
You might find the following interesting:
- Between the 41st and 56th Congresses (1869-1899) all of the black congressmen were Republicans
- There were no blacks in congress between 1901 and 1929
- The Senate has never had more than one black senator during any given session - with the vast majority of sessions having no black senators
- Between the 46th and the 90th Congresses, there were no black senators
Taking the whole American apartheid period into account, the 1901 - 1929 period is weird, as black membership in congress began growing in the late 40’s through late 60’s - the time most people hearken back to as representative of the epitome of apartheid. I can only surmise that political culture and the events of the day are not directly related.
I would appreciate comments on this. My take aways from the information I have are mixed.
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