Voting Rights Act Improved Black Representation in Congress

The United States Supreme Court has narrowed parts of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a landmark statute introduced during the civil rights era to prohibit racial discrimination in voting. The ruling, announced on April 29, makes it harder to challenge redistricting plans on the grounds that they are racially discriminatory.

The following chart shows how Black representation in Congress increased significantly after the Voting Rights Act was introduced in 1965. At the start of the 89th Congress, there were just six African American members of the House. This figure more than tripled to 21 by the 99th Congress in 1985, including 20 representatives and one non-voting delegate. Representation has continued to rise, reaching 61 African American members of the House at the start of the 119th Congress in 2025, along with five African American senators - the highest number recorded at the beginning of a Congress in the Senate.

While progress has been made and the 119th Congress is the most racially and ethnically diverse in U.S. history, representation still does not reflect the broader population. This is especially evident in the Senate, where five of 100 senators are African American, compared with roughly 14 percent of the U.S. population identifying as Black or African American. Critics of the ruling warn that the erosion of the Voting Rights Act could lead to a reversal of the gains achieved in minority representation in recent decades.