Congressional Black Caucus

Since its establishment in 1971, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) has been committed to using the full Constitutional power, statutory authority, and financial resources of the federal government to ensure that African Americans and other marginalized communities in the United States have the opportunity to achieve the American Dream. The Caucus is Chaired by Congresswoman Joyce Beatty. As part of this commitment, the CBC has fought for the past 48 years to empower these citizens and address their legislative concerns by pursuing a policy agenda that includes but is not limited to the following: reforming the criminal justice system and eliminating barriers to reentry; combatting voter suppression; expanding access to world-class education from pre-k through post-secondary level; expanding access to quality, affordable health care and eliminating racial health disparities; expanding access to 21st century technologies, including broadband; strengthening protections for workers and expanding access to full, fairly-compensated employment; expanding access to capital, contracts, and counseling for minority-owned businesses; and promoting U.S. foreign policy initiatives in Africa and other countries that are consistent with the fundamental right of human dignity. For the 117th Congress, the CBC has a historic 56 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, representing more than 82 million Americans, 25.3 percent of the total U.S. population, and more than 17 million African-Americans, 41 percent of the total U.S. African-American population. In addition, the CBC represents almost a fourth of the House Democratic Caucus.