US Senate Committee Had 1 Black Member In 200 Years (Until Now)

In more than 200 years of existence, the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary has never had two black members serving at the same time. Until now.

On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) was appointed to the powerful committee alongside Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA). Booker and Harris are just the second and third African-American members in the body's history.

What will Booker and Harris be responsible for? Beyond its role in providing oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice, including the FBI, the committee also oversees the Department of Homeland Security and plays a crucial role in the consideration of many key executive branch nominations, including all nominations to the Supreme Court and the federal judiciary.

Booker and Harris’ appointments come a month after a coalition of civil rights and racial justice organizations, led by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, sent a letter to Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) urging leadership to “appoint an African-American” to serve on the committee.

“We are indeed at an unprecedented moment in history where a record number of African-American senators serve in Congress,” the coalition stated in their letter. “This vacancy creates the opportunity to further diversify the perspectives and voices overseeing issues that impact the most vulnerable communities in our country. We urge Senate leadership to ensure that the voice of the African-American community is reflected, not only in its mission, but in its makeup.

'STANDING UP TO SESSIONS AND TRUMP'

In a news release after his appointment on Tuesday, Booker identified himself as “one of the most outspoken and persistent critics of U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions” and said that he will “make it his mission” to stand up to Sessions and President Trump.

“Fixing America's broken criminal justice system has been a decades-long passion of mine, and the urgency with which we must act has grown with the extraordinarily dangerous, backwards policies being advanced by Attorney General Sessions and President Trump," Booker said.

“Make no mistake about it - our country is at a decisive turning point,” Booker emphasized. “The Trump administration has repeatedly demonstrated its hostility to the ideals of civil rights and equal justice for all.”

• See related article: Booker’s US Marijuana Legalization Bill Would End 'War On Weed'

Harris said that she was honored to be named to serve on the committee, and that she’s “determined to continue the fight for justice, equality, and be a voice for the vulnerable.”

“I look forward to the chance to continue to provide a voice for our most vulnerable communities, work on issues I’ve handled since my earliest days in the Alameda County District Attorney’s office, and defend California in the face of this administration’s repeated attacks on our values,” Harris said.

Booker and Harris have already collaborated on a criminal justice-related lawmaking effort, teaming up with other senators to introduce the Dignity Act last year, which would reform the way women are treated behind bars.

According to the U.S. Senate website:

• “Cory Booker (D-NJ) became the first African-American to represent New Jersey in the United States Senate on October 31, 2013. Born in Washington, D.C., he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Stanford and then attended The Queen’s College, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, as a Rhodes Scholar, where he received a graduate degree in 1994. Booker then attended Yale Law School, earning his juris doctor degree in 1997. He served on the Newark City Council from 1998 to 2002 and then as mayor of Newark from 2006 to 2013. Booker was elected to the United States Senate in a special election on October 16, 2013, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Frank Lautenberg, a seat subsequently held by appointed senator Jeffrey Chiesa, and took the oath of office on October 31, 2013, for the term ending January 3, 2015. He was elected to a full term in November 2014.”
• “Kamala Harris (D-CA) became the first African-American to represent California in the United States Senate on January 3, 2017. Born in Oakland, California, Harris graduated from Howard University in Washington, D.C., before returning to California to attend the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. After earning her juris doctor degree, Harris served as the deputy district attorney in Alameda County, California, before becoming the managing attorney in the San Francisco District Attorney's Office and then chief of the Division on Children and Families where she established California’s first Bureau of Children’s Justice. Harris was the first African-American and first woman elected district attorney of San Francisco (2004-2011) and attorney general of California (2011-2016).”

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Photo 1: Cory Booker

Photo 2: Kamala Harris / U.S. Senate Historical Office