The first black, openly gay members of the U.S. House of Representatives
-
Energized by the US’s massive anti-racism protests, history-making progressives from New York — young, black, Latino and gay — want to shake up Congress’s status quo when they are likely elected in November.
Mondaire Jones, 33, and Afro-Latino Ritchie Torres, 32, are set to become the first black, openly gay members of the House of Representatives following the November 3 vote.
Galvanized by the Black Lives Matter demonstrations, they recently won primaries to become the Democratic Party’s candidates in districts that overwhelmingly vote Democrat, all but securing their election to Congress’s lower house.
Currently, only two of the US Senate’s 100 members and seven of the House’s 435 representatives identify themselves as LGBTQ.
Although the LGBTQ community comprises 4.5 percent of America’s population, members occupy only 0.17 percent of elected roles, according to the Victory Institute.
-
More visibility is needed.
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better 💗
Register Login