In 2014, Higher Heights and the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) published the first Black Women in American Politics report. The report’s seventh edition first published in my Wednesday newsletter.

It outlines the record number of Black women running for and winning seats in Congress, state legislatures, and mayoral offices, as well as the progress and challenges for Black women running for statewide and federal office. While the report points out that there are still no Black women governors or any currently serving in the U.S. Senate, it also talks about the lessons learned in defeat as Black women organizers, voters, and candidates look to the future.

Carr credits the boldness of many of today’s Black women candidates and elected officials stepping forward to lead. And she acknowledges the contributions of groups like hers, and the Black women leading advocacy organizations that are also focused on electing candidates and mobilizing their members into voters like Emily’s List, the Human Rights Campaign, and the National Domestic Workers Alliance, as sharing in these victories.

“We’ve been spending a lot of time talking about Black women’s political leadership,” Carr told me. “To be in this moment for Black women to vote, run, win and lead … from the local Black women organizers informally to the rise of Black women organizers and leaders on the local and national level, pushing for narrative change and pushing for investment that has actually led to this moment.”

In 1968, Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman elected to Congress. Today, a record 28 Black women are serving as voting members, plus two non-voting delegates, all of them Democrats. Black women make up 5.2 percent of all members of Congress, 45.9 percent of Black members of Congress and 22.4 percent of all women.

The report points out that some of the newer Black women in Congress, including Summer Lee of Pennsylvania and Jasmine Crockett of Texas, are entering office at a younger age than their predecessors. Among all Black women who have entered Congress since 2018, the average age is 46, compared with 52 for all Black women who entered prior to 2018. (Chisholm was elected at 43).

It’s proof that Black women need not spend decades in places like state legislatures, which are often a path to higher office, before pursuing congressional seats. And the earlier they get there, the better chance these Black women have to build up seniority and enter leadership roles.

Read the full article about Black women in politics by Errin Haines at The19th.