Examining Black Legislative Caucuses

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

Diversity shapes institutions, but scholars must take an intersectional approach to comprehensively understand how and under what conditions. Research demonstrates the importance of Black descriptive and collective representation in legislatures. It is essential to understand how the identity of individuals shapes the way they experience institutions and how they adapt to or disrupt them.
Legislative caucuses are groups within legislatures beyond committees and parties which can impact policy (Hammond 1998). Caucuses enable representatives to work together on issues that may cut across political party lines. They are a space for advocates to work with legislators on particular policies based on shared identities such as race and gender. These organizations inform scholarship on polarization, institutional change, and state policy outputs. As polarization increases across state legislatures, legislators may seek alternative organizations from parties and committees to facilitate information sharing and policymaking (Ringe, Victor, and Carman 2013). Identity caucuses, in particular, often pressure legislative institutions to reform discriminatory norms and practices. Finally, caucuses facilitate lawmaking by fostering cosponsorship among members, contributing to legislative success (Holman, Mahoney, and Hurler 2021)
Race matters for representation. Black members of Congress influence the voting behavior of their colleagues (Gay 2001), perform more constituency service and excel in allocation responsiveness (Grose 2011), talk about race in their speeches (Canon 1999), represent Black interests in the oversight process (Minta 2011), and are more active during committee markups of Black interest bills (Gamble 2007). However, despite its voting cohesion and cosponsorship networks, legislative Black caucuses are not a monolithic.

Sub Unit

• Division 22: Legislative Studies

Individual Presentations

• Caucus Cohesion and Substantive Representation in State Legislatures - Hunter Rendleman, Harvard University

• Representation That Transcends Race - Karra McCray Gibson, Brown University

• Credit Claiming Practices of Female Members of State Black Legislative Caucuses - Nadia E. Brown, Georgetown University; Christopher Jude Clark, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Anna M. Mahoney, Dartmouth College

• Advocating for #MeToo: The Legislative Effects of Congressional Women’s Caucuses - Kristen Essel, Brown University; Karra McCray Gibson, Brown University

Chair

• Periloux Peay University of Maryland, College Park

Discussant

• Michael Strawbridge Washington University in St. Louis