Jobs and Money. Money and Power. During a panel discussion on Capitol Hill today from noon to 2 p.m. in room 902 of the Hart Senate Office Building, there will be a discussion on diversity in hiring on Capitol Hill.
RELATED: JOINT CENTER STUDY on SENATE DIVERSITY
The National Urban League and the Joint Center have been focused on studying hiring of senior staff in the U.S. Senate and the results have been embarrassing — particularly for the Democratic Party. Senior staffers are defined as: Chief of Staff, Legislative Director and Communications Director.
There are currently only three African American senior staffers occupying the 300 senior staff jobs in the U.S. Senate. Not one Democrat in the Senate has a Black Chief of Staff or Communications Director. Over 22% of Democratic voters are Black.
There is only one Black Chief of Staff in the U.S. Senate, Jennifer DeCasper, who works for South Carolina Republican Tim Scott, and she will take part in the panel discussion today.
Former Senate Chief of Staff Don Cravins, who is now the National Urban League’s Senior Vice President for Policy, will deliver opening remarks at the forum. He is all but certain to review the Senate’s diversity numbers as found in the Joint Center’s sobering report. Many Senate Democrats who are in office because of Black voters have no Black senior staff members. Many of those Senators from southern states have never had a Black senior staffer.
