New Congress prepares to take their seats with new black members

The newly elected members of Congress who were elected in November will take their seats Tuesday, January 3.

Several African-Americans will take seats in Congress when the newly elected members are sworn in Tuesday, January 3, 2017.

This past November saw the election of Kamala Harris (D-CA) to the United States Senate, and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Al Lawson (D-FL), Val Demmings (D-FL), Anthony Brown (D-MD), and Donald McEachin (D-VA) to the United States House of Representatives.

Dwight Evans (D-PA) was elected to the House at the end of the last Congress to replace former Congressman Chaka Fattah who resigned after being convicted on corruption charges.

Three of the new members are attorneys Kamala Harris who is the outgoing Attorney General of California, Anthony Brown who practiced law before becoming Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, and Donald McEachin who started his own law firm in his home state of Virginia.

Also of note the Congressional Black Caucus announced that Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA) an attorney would be the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. African-American members of the House and Senate typically join the caucus in order to more effectively advocate on behalf of the nation’s African-American citizens.