Raced Identities in White Spaces: The Racialized Professional Identity of African American Legislative Staff

Abstract

Congressional scholars that study race often debate the merits of descriptive representation, or if constituents benefit from having a member of Congress of the same racial or gender identity. The research is inconclusive, primarily because members of Congress have numerous roles and hold multiple responsibilities, so descriptive representation may matter in only certain aspects of the work that legislators do. While there is a robust debate around the significance of descriptive representation among elected representatives, this question has not been extended to consider descriptive representation among our “unelected representatives”, otherwise known as congressional staff. I consider research that demonstrates the importance of studying the racial and gender identity of elected officials’ employees. I review data from over 70 interviews with congressional staffers about how they see their role in Congress. I show that there are distinct racial differences in how African American and white staffers perceive of their role in the legislature. I establish the importance of racial diversity in Congress and show how staffers of color add diverse opinions to policymaking discussions, act as interlocutors between white lawmakers and communities of color, and actively work to make the institution more inclusive.