A record number of black gay men could serve in Congress by 2027 as Republicans eliminate black districts. Activists and analysts say representation alone is not enough.
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This fall, a 27-year-old gay black man named Elijah Manley will become the best-funded challenger to 20-year veteran Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), who is facing the biggest political fight of her life to remain in Congress.
Wasserman Schultz, a 59-year-old straight white woman, raised eyebrows by choosing to run in Florida’s predominantly black 20th Congressional District after the state’s Republican-led Legislature redistricted Broward County and lost her seat.
“This district can make history,” Manley told USA TODAY. “We can make history here: electing the youngest gay member of Congress and the first black gay man from the state of Florida.”
Wasserman Schultz said in a statement that she aims to focus on the needs of the district and “provide resources to the people of Broward who know and trust me and who want to continue this important fight for their families against President Trump’s expensive and corrupt policies.”
The primary race to replace scandal-plagued former Rep. Sheila Chafferas-McCormick, who is running for the seat again, reflects a national trend of young progressive challengers looking to upset aging House incumbents.
Florida Manly Sen. Shevrin Jones and Rep. Richie Torres, widely considered the front-runners to replace Rep. Frederica Wilson, are among a trio of black gay men who will make history if they win in the midterm elections. The rise in political profile of these candidates comes at a critical time for Democrats, as Republican Congresses redraw historically black districts to weaken the opposition’s chances of winning at the polls.
The Supreme Court’s decision in April weakened the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act and eroded the political power of black voters. In response, Republicans in Texas, Tennessee and Louisiana are trying to redistrict traditionally black districts to shore up support for the party.
Six years after New York state Rep. Richie Torres and former Rep. Mondaire Jones made history in 2020 as the first black gay members of Congress, the landscape of representation has changed significantly, political activists and analysts say.
Mondaire Jones: Representation is considered ‘unimportant’
Black gay men face obstacles to getting elected.
Liberal advocacy groups framed the 2020 House victories of Torres and Jones in New York as a necessary victory for unheard voices in the chambers of Congress. More than five years later, the pro-Israel Torres is being challenged by a cash-strapped progressive primary opponent, and Jones is no longer in office.
After redistricting, Jones lost the 2022 primary in the nearby 10th Congressional District, rather than the suburban 17th Congressional District he previously represented.
Jones’ former seat is based in the area of former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and is currently represented by Republican Rep. Mike Lawler. Like Torres, Jones faced criticism from the party’s progressive wing over his support for Israel.
When asked whether issues within the Democratic Party or his own identity influenced his decision to resign, Jones said the redistricting that ended his career was done with minimal consideration for his history.
“I think the casual way cartographers treated New York’s 17th Congressional District map when I was incumbent reflects how little the representation I was providing and the history I was creating mattered,” Jones said.
“Expression alone is not enough”
Four years after Congressman Jones left office, another unrelated personal friend, Jones, plans to advocate for health care, schools and small businesses if elected to Congress.
Sen. Shevrin Jones, a longtime lawmaker in a state that has been at the center of the nation’s cultural debate over LGBTQ+ rights, is running to replace Wilson, the former principal of Skyway Elementary School, which was renamed in honor of the eight-term congressman who is retiring this term.
Jones is a beneficiary of the 5,000 Outstanding Role Models Project, Wilson’s Miami mentorship program that provides access and opportunity to young Black men.
He was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2012. Six years later, on June 12, 2016, 49 people were killed and more than 50 injured in a massacre at Pulse, a nightclub popular with LGBTQ+ men of color in Orlando, Florida.
Jones came out publicly in 2018, two years after the Pulse shooting.
Jones won a seat in the Florida Senate, the upper chamber of the Florida Legislature, in 2020. Congress then passed the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which was signed into law by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in 2022, restricting classroom discussion of LGBTQ+ people in public schools.
Jones said the bill is painful to him personally and harmful to countless families in Florida.
Black gay people at the center of LGBTQ+ equality and civil rights
Black gay men have been at the forefront of public life for decades, central to the fight for civil rights for Black Americans and equality for LGBTQ+ Americans. Poet, activist, and essayist James Baldwin is one of the most influential figures in American history.
In recent years, the public has come to better understand the contributions of Bayard Rustin, an advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and a pioneer in the civil rights movement who played a key role in organizing the historic March on Washington in 1963.
Colman Domingo, a black gay man, was nominated for an Academy Award for playing Rustin in the 2023 Netflix biopic. Other notable screen stars include RuPaul Charles, of MTV’s “Drag Race” fame and 14-time Emmy Award winner, and Tony Award winner Billy Porter.
Early advances were also made in sports. Jason Collins was the first black gay NBA player to come out in 2013, followed the following year by Michael Sam, the NFL’s first black gay player. Despite this, representation of black gay people in the media still lags behind white LGBTQ+ visibility.
Black gay congressman made history
While federal representation lags, black gay men are making gains in statewide elections. Former Connecticut state Rep. Jason Bartlett became the first gay black state representative in the United States in 2011, and Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta won the Philadelphia race in 2018.
State Sen. Jabari Brisport was elected in New York in 2020, and a year later, State Sen. Mike Simmons won a seat in the Illinois Senate. State Rep. Corey A. Jackson will become the first Black gay lawmaker in California history in 2022, representing the Riverside County district in Sacramento. The following year, State Representative Rosia Henson was elected to the Virginia House of Representatives. All are Democrats.
Preston Mitchum, an alumnus of Summer House, a Bravo spinoff set on Martha’s Vineyard with an all-black cast, is the senior director of legislative affairs at the left-wing watchdog group Common Cause.
Mitchum explained why he believes black gay men have experienced more progress in entertainment than in government.
“People would much rather be entertained by a black gay man than they would want to follow a black gay man in politics,” Mitchum said, noting that black entertainers and artists continue to face an onslaught of harassment, vitriol, hatred and homophobia.
Not just identity, but accountability as well
Some experts say representation based solely on identity makes no difference when serving voters. Marcus Lee, a professor of African American studies at Princeton University, often tells his students that descriptive language is different from substantive language.
Lee explains that a person can be black and gay and still support policies that do not have positive outcomes for black and gay people.
“I’m encouraged by this new representation among black gay men, but I also think it means they have to take responsibility for the communities they are often asked to represent,” Lee said.
Marlon M. Bailey, a black gay theorist at Washington University in St. Louis, said it’s important for black gay men in politics to speak out on issues and policies that affect their communities and American workers.
Bailey cited Torres’ support for Israel as an example, while Lee questioned the congressman’s decision to vote in favor of the Laken-Reilly Act, a controversial federal immigration bill written by House and Senate Republicans.
“People should also judge leaders by their actions.”
Because LGBTQ+ Black men are disproportionately poor, “unemployed and underemployed, uninsured and underinsured,” and suffer from higher rates of mental health and substance abuse issues, Black gay lawmakers “must address these important issues rather than wallow in the celebration of their existence,” Bailey said.
Lee added that Torres’ vote is more meaningful given the day-to-day impact on black and gay people’s lives, explaining that the role of identity can be a constraint.
“The problem is when it’s just representation and not challenging the systems and structures that create barriers for LGBTQ working people in the first place,” Bailey said.
In Florida, both Manley and Jones know they are confronting history by running for Congress.
“I think representation is important, but representation alone isn’t enough, right?” Jones said. “Sharing someone’s real-life experience may be helpful for understanding. I think it may help you understand certain challenges more personally. But ultimately people should judge leaders by their actions, not just who they are.”
Still, Mr. Jones is said to be the only gay man to succeed Mr. Wilson in Congress.
“I want to tell them, ‘I’ve been there, I’ve done that.'”
