MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki talked with Willie Brown, Hilary Shelton and Rep. G.K. Butterfield Thursday about why there are so few African-American U.S. Senators.
This week, former Newark, N.J. Mayor Cory Booker joined Republican Tim Scott of South Carolina as only African-Americans in the Senate, and the ninth black senator in U.S. history.
Kornacki suggested to his panel a “pipeline problem” is at the root of getting African-Americans opportunities to run for the Senate. Kornacki also noted that some 10 percent of the U.S. House of Representatives are African-American, while the Senate lags behind.
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“Well that disconnect is all about racism, basically, in America,” said Brown, who served as San Francisco’s Mayor from 1996-2004. “Plus, the absence of opportunities in various states where the population should be able to be supported. The political parties and the resources have just not been there behind African-American candidates.”
Watch the panel’s entire discussion below:
