The Role Of Minorities In Congress

In the last few Congresses, the representation of minorities has continued to grow, and is the highest it has ever been. However, the percentage of minorities in Congress is still surprisingly low, only seventeen percent of the 114th Congress consists of non-whites. As gender and racial biases are continuously being squashed in the public square, very strong and more sensible reason for this high under-representation in Congress is because of the high reelection rate. With ninety-five percent of Congress members reelected, there is little room for the minorities to vote in a representative. And even though studies have concluded that females are more effective in political positions, only twenty percent of congress is made up of women.
Many minorities embody the progressive spirit and ideals, more so than the current white male seat holders, leaving some major beliefs of the public without representation. As a result of a Congress dominated by white males who simply cannot stand for or understand the ideals of the minority as well as one of their own could, the accuracy of representation of American thought, as well as the effectiveness with which Congress could operate, seems to be largely hindered. Some have proposed term limits so that a greater number of representatives, hopefully from minorities, can filter in, resulting in the greater representation of American thought in Congress.