Black elected officials increased six-fold since 1970: study

Thirty years after the publication of the first national count of Black elected officials (BEOs), the Washington, D.C.-based Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies recently released its 2000 figures, showing a six-fold increase in elected officials since 1970, from 1,469 to 9,040.

The report, Black Elected Officials: A Statistical Summary 2000, also highlights key political trends.

First, Black women have accounted for all of the growth in the number of BEOs for two consecutive years and make up 34.5% of the total.

Second, younger Blacks, with different views and experiences than their older counterparts, are being elected. And an increasing number of Black mayors are being elected in large cities (with populations over 50,000) where the majority of the population is not Black.

Although there was a modest increase of only 1.2% between January 1999 and January 2000, the combined total of the two states with the largest number of Blacks holding elective office--Mississippi and Alabama--is greater than the

nationwide total in 1970.

"The past three decades have been the most dynamic period for Black elected officials in terms of growth, gender and age diversity, and political clout," said Eddie N. Williams, president of the Joint Center. "When the first roster was published in 1970, Shirley Chisholm was the only Black female in Congress and there were only two Black mayors of major cities. Today, there are 15 Black female congressional representatives and 47 big-city Black mayors."

The net gain of 101 in 2000 was largely the result of Blacks being elected to offices previously held by non-Blacks. There were increases in 19 states (including the District of Columbia). Among the top five states with the largest number of BEOs were Mississippi (897); Alabama (731); Louisiana (701); Illinois (621), and Georgia (582).

Other report highlights are:

* In 1970 there was a total of 809 BEOs in the top 10 states with the largest number of Blacks in elective office; in 2000 there were 5,881.

* Most of the growth of elected officials between 1970 and 2000 occurred in the South, and six states--Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Illinois, Georgia and South Carolina--have each gained more than 500 BEOs during this period.

The report encompasses federal, state, municipal and local officials, including those in law enforcement and education.