But first….

Black on Substack: Kristen Jeffers

As I mentioned yesterday, this week I’m lifting up awesome work by other Black creators on Substack. Readers who know me well know that I’m a sucker for good urbanist content that dissects the ways in which humans cooperate to shape the world around them. Enter The Black Urbanist Weekly….

The Black Urbanist Weekly

An abbreviated description from Kristen: The Black Urbanist Weekly is an email newsletter that highlights Kristen Jeffers (me)’s Black Queer Feminist Urbanist commentary on one key issue every week.

Kristen has been running this newsletter for awhile and just recently brought it over to Substack, so please give her a warm welcome! If you like what you see, please show her some love and tell her Battleground sent you!

Buy Me A Coffee ☕

CBC Leadership

Rep. Joyce Beatty serves as the current chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus. She recently became chair of the caucus in 2021 and has represented Ohio’s 3rd congressional district (serving Columbus, OH) since 2013.

Rep. Steven Horsford is the 1st vice-chair of the caucus and represents Nevada’s 4th congressional district. Horsford is known as the first African American to represent Nevada in Congress. He has served two non-consecutive terms: his first term (2013-15) was cut short after losing to the Republican challenger in the 2014 election.

Rep. Brenda Lawrence is the 2nd vice-chair of the caucus and represents Michigan’s 14th congressional district, serving eastern Detroit. She was first elected to Congress in 2014 after serving as a mayor of Southfield, Michigan for 14 years.

Rep. Hank Johnson is the caucus whip and represents Georgia’s 4th congressional district, serving much of Atlanta’s eastern suburbs. He has represented this district since 2007 and is one of only three Buddhists to have served in Congress.

Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee is the caucus parliamentarian and has represented Texas’ 18th congressional district, serving downtown Houston, since 1995. She is incredibly popular within her district as she has won every general election with more than 70% of the vote and has regularly scored a majority of the vote in crowded primaries.

Rep. Frederica Wilson is the caucus secretary and represents Florida’s 24th congressional district, a district holding much of Miami’s Black population. She was first elected in 2011 and rose to prominence for her comments on the death of Trayvon Martin.

Rep. Joe Neguse is the caucus’s “member at-large” and represents Colorado’s 2nd congressional district, home to Boulder. Neguse is known as both the first African American to represent Colorado in Congress and as the first Eritrean-American ever elected to Congress.

The Retiring Class

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson was the first registered nurse to serve in Congress when she was elected in 1992 and has represented Dallas, TX in Congress for decades. She has been clear in her intentions to endorse a woman to take her seat.

Rep Bobby Rush has represented Chicago’s South Side in Congress since 1993. He has an extensive political legacy, dating back to his role as a co-founder of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party. He’s also known as the only politician to have ever beaten Barack Obama in an election, after defeating Obama in his district’s Democratic primary back in 2000.

Rep. George Kenneth Butterfield Jr. was first elected to Congress in 2004 after winning a special election for North Carolina’s first congressional district. He also served as the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus from 2015 to 2017.

Rep. Karen Bass is the youngest of the group, only joining Congress in 2011. She is the most recent chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, serving from 2019 to 2021. Bass announced her retirement as she is campaigning to become the mayor of Los Angeles.

Want to learn more about the Congressional Black Caucus?

• Check out the full roster on their website.

• Understand the policy initiatives supported by the caucus to address pressing issues in the African American community.

• See how our diversifying electorate is forcing the CBC to address the concept of intersectionality as an increasing number of Americans hold multiple racial identities.