Caribbean-Americans climb the ranks of US Congressional Black Caucus
The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) of the United States has elected two Caribbean American Representatives to leadership positions in the 118th Congress.
The CBC elected Steven Horsford, who represents Nevada’s 4th Congressional District, and Yvette D. Clarke, who represents New York’s 9th Congressional District, as chair and first vice chair, respectively.
Along with other Black Congressional Representatives, both were elected to a two-year term and will be sworn in when the new session of the US Congress convenes in January.
Horsford said in a statement, “Thank you to my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus for electing me as the 28th Chair of our historic group.
“Over the past half-century, the CBC has served as the ‘conscience of the Congress,’ guiding legislative priorities that have helped shape our nation and improve the lives of African Americans and all our constituents.
“As chair, I will provide the leadership, strategic vision, and implementation of our plans to steer us on a path that will produce positive socioeconomic outcomes for the communities and constituencies we serve,” he added.
“As chair of the CBC, I’ll be able to shine a light on the hardworking people of Nevada’s 4th Congressional District and advocate for our diverse coalition of Nevadans,” he said.
Horsford was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, to Trinidadian mother Pamela Horsford and African American father Gary Shelton, who was murdered when he was 19 years old.
Clarke, a senior member of both the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee and House Committee on Homeland Security, where she serves as chair of the Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Innovation Subcommittee, thanked her CBC colleagues for their support and stated that she is “blessed” to serve alongside them in the upcoming 118th Congress.
She told the Caribbean Media Corporation, “Serving on the Executive Committee of the Congressional Black Caucus in the 118th Congress is more than a privilege; it is an obligation that I do not take lightly” (CMC).
“Each new Congress is an opportunity for our 60-member caucus to advance legislation and policy to address the plethora of persistent inequities that continue to impact Black communities in our nation.
“Today, Congress faces countless new facets of these historic challenges, and we as a caucus must remain vigilant if we are to overcome them. I have no doubt that the dynamic talent and capabilities of our new Executive Committee will propel this truly extraordinary and remarkable caucus to unimaginable heights and possibilities, both within the United States Congress and beyond, into the many cherished communities that are essential to the growth and strengthening of our nation.
Clarke stated, “I have no doubt that our members will continue to build on the success of our predecessors, support and elevate the causes so vital to the advancement of people of African descent, and build upon the success of our predecessors.”
“Since Shirley Chisholm and Charlie Rangel, along with 11 of their Congressional colleagues, founded the Congressional Black Caucus, much has changed in our nation and in our Congress. The mission of this caucus has remained unchanged and will endure forever.
In 1968, the late Chisholm, whose parents were born in Barbados and Guyana, became the first African-American woman to be elected to the United States Congress.
