"Mr. Cohen asked for admission and he got his answer," said Representative William Clay Jr. of Missouri. "It's an unwritten rule. It's understood. It's clear." To make sure of that, Clay's father -- former representative William Clay Sr., a co-founder of the Congressional Black Caucus -- had distributed a memo declaring it "critical" that the CBC "membership remain exclusively African-American." Unlike Martin Luther King Jr., the Clays apparently believe in judging people less by the content of their character than by the color of their skin.
The Congressional Black Caucus was formed 38 years ago to do what all congressional caucuses do: bring together members who share certain interests in pursuit of common legislative goals. Its "core mission," says the CBC, "has been to close . . . disparities that exist between African-Americans and white Americans in every aspect of life." For an ardent liberal Democrat like Cohen -- whose constituency is 60 percent black, most of whose staff are black, and whose 20-year voting record in the Tennessee Legislature Cohen himself likens to that of "a black woman" -- membership in the caucus should be a no-brainer.
After all, congressional caucuses are not country clubs open only to applicants with the right bloodlines. The Congressional French Caucus isn't limited to French-Americans or the Congressional Native American Caucus to American Indians. By the same token, the Congressional Glaucoma Caucus isn't open only to members of Congress with glaucoma, you don't have to be a horseman to be in the Congressional Horse Caucus, and the Congressional Arts Caucus isn't restricted to musicians and painters.
Nothing about the Congressional Black Caucus is enhanced by strict racial segregation. On the contrary: As a matter of sheer political effectiveness, caucus members should welcome with open arms new colleagues of every race who share their aims or represent large black populations -- or, as in Cohen’s case, both. To spurn a potential ally because his skin is the "wrong" color is politically dumb and morally despicable.
Cohen isn't the first white congressman to seek admission to the CBC. Thirty years ago, Representative Pete Stark, a California Democrat, wanted to join. "Half my Democratic constituents were African-American," Stark said last week. "I felt we had interests in common as far as helping people in poverty. They had a vote, and I lost. They said the issue was that I was white, and they felt it was important that the group be limited to African-Americans."
A disheartening constant in American life is the politician who sees people first and foremost as members of racial groups, and who insists on racial separateness in the institutions he values most. But some things do change: Such politicians used to be called reactionary. Today they're known as progressive.
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