Black History Month is here! I did a quick poll about what to do this month and a few people said that they’d like to see me do black politicians. So, I will be doing: Presidents, Cabinet members, Senators, Congresscritters, Governors, Judges, Mayors, and Ambassadors. Perhaps some key state officials.

But today, I wanted to start out with an overview of the state of African-Americans in American politics. I have reviewed numerous articles about this, and I’m very glad that it’s being looked at, even though the data is grim. After all, we have to see the problem and understand the problem in order to do something about it.

Roughly four-in-ten black adults (38%) say that working to get more black people elected to office would be a very effective tactic for groups striving to help blacks achieve equality

in the Senate, in state legislatures, in city councils, where policies most clearly affect the daily lives of African-Americans, the gap between population and representation is notable. Take Ferguson, for example. Though African Americans make up about two-thirds of Ferguson’s population, they hold just one of the six seats on its City Council.

appearance of black political clout is deceiving. Despite gains in participation and representation, blacks continue to fare worse than whites in converting their policy preferences into law.