Diversity Among Top Capitol Hill Staff; Valerie Scott Price🌹; Alexandria Dems Send Message to Virginia's Senators

Mar 12, 2025

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COVID-19 Remembrance Day at Virginia Union

On Friday, March 14, 2025, Delegate Delores McQuinn will host the annual Victims of COVID-19 Remembrance Day program at Virginia Union University. The event will take place outside located near the Bell Tower and will start at 11:00 a.m. The event will commemorate the lives lost during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2021, Delegate McQuinn's HJ 605 was passed by both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly. HJ 605 designating March 14, 2021 as “Victims of COVID-19 Remembrance Day” in Virginia. This day will continue to honor those affected by the pandemic.

City of Richmond Mayor Dr. Danny Avula and Richmond City Council President Dr. Cynthia Newbille will give remarks. All are welcomed.

EVENT DETAILS:
Date: Friday, March 14, 2025
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Location: Near the Bell Tower, Virginia Union University, 1500 N Lombardy St, Richmond, VA 23220 (across from the L. Douglas Wilder Library)

Dr. Wes Bellamy on The Breakfast Club

On March 6, Dr. Wes Bellamy, who is the Chief Executive Officer of the Black College Invitational Championship was on The Breakfast Club.

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Racial Diversity Among Top Capitol Hill Staff Remains an Issue

From Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies: America’s Black think tank, published a final update on the racial diversity of top staff hires in the 119th Congress. Research finds that despite the 119th Congress being the most diverse in history, top staff of color still lags behind the U.S. population of people of color.

There are 1,599 top positions (chiefs of staff, legislative directors, and communications directors) in the personal offices of new and returning members of the 119th Congress. As of Feb. 28, U.S. senators filled 285 top staff positions and U.S. House members filled 1,224, leaving 90 positions to fill.

While the members of the 119th Congress are slightly more diverse than the previous Congress, the racial makeup of its top staff does not reflect the diversity of the United States. According to the Joint Center’s midterm hiring campaign microsite, which went live in Nov. 2024 and features several interactive tracking tools, including monitoring top staff hires of all new and returning members, 94.4 percent of the positions have already been filled (1,509 of 1,599) as of Feb. 28, 2025.

Of the top staff hired by new and returning members so far, 20.0 percent are people of color, and 5.4 percent are African American. With people of color accounting for 41.1 percent of the U.S. population (African Americans are 13.6 percent of the U.S. population), these low percentages are concerning.

“This Congress is the most diverse to date with 26 percent members of color, yet top staff of color still falls short compared to the diversity of America,” said Joint Center Senior Researcher Dr. LaShonda Brenson, who leads the Joint Center’s Hill Diversity work. “Since we began studying this issue ten years ago, Congress has yet to hire a top staff of color that reflects the people of color in the United States. Top staff hold significant power on Capitol Hill and play a crucial role in ensuring the interests of all Americans are adequately considered. We urge members of Congress to prioritize diversity as they staff their offices.”

Joint Center Research Associate Kimberly Victor said, “It’s promising to see congressional members of color hire diverse top staff, however, the responsibility of hiring top staff of color shouldn’t solely fall on them. If the pattern continues of not hiring diverse top staff in the remaining 90 positions, racial diversity among top staff of newly-elected and returning members will fall even further. It’s imperative for all members of Congress to hire top staff of color to reflect the diversity of their constituents.”

Read our full analysis, which includes additional data disaggregated by overall diversity vs. the U.S. population by newly elected and returning members of Congress and political parties, here.

*Our analysis reflects the 533 voting members of Congress as of Feb. 28, 2025, not including Florida 1st and 6th House Districts. Independent members of Congress are counted with the party they caucus with.

Statement from the Office of Congressman Bobby Scott on the Passing of Valerie Scott Price

The Office of Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) released the following statement: “It is with great sadness that Congressman Scott learned of the passing of his sister, Valerie Scott Price 🌹 who died peacefully yesterday. As a teacher, Valerie dedicated much of her life to public service and advocacy for education. She was an active and involved member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. as well as her community in her hometown of Newport News. She will be greatly missed by many. The family is asking for privacy during this difficult time.”

Additional information regarding funeral arrangements will be released at a later date.

Alexandria Dems Ask Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine to Stop Voting for Trump’s Cabinet Picks

ALX.NOW. The Alexandria Democratic Committee isn’t happy that Virginia Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner recently voted for a number of President Donald Trump’s new cabinet secretaries.

At its March meeting last week, the ADC passed a resolution asking the Democratic lawmakers to withhold future support in all forms. According to the resolution: READ ENTRE IN AXL.NOW

Listen to Black Virginia News podcast 46: 🎙️ Advice for Federal Workers

Black Press Day

Tomorrow (March 13, 2025) at Howard University from 11-2pm is Black Press Day 2025. The events can be viewed below on YouTube.

Events