A generation of Black political leaders is getting ready to leave Capitol Hill.
Some were part of the Civil Rights Movement. Others spent years in state and city government before coming to Washington. As representatives and members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), they worked on issues like voting rights, gun violence, poverty, education, reproductive freedom, racial discrimination, and political representation for Black communities.
Now, several longtime members of the CBC are leaving as the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) celebrates its 50th anniversary in September 2026 with the theme: “Rooted, Ready and Rising.”
Among those departing or not seeking another term in the House are Democratic Reps. Mark Veasey of Texas, Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey, Danny Davis of Illinois, Dwight Evans of Pennsylvania, Frederica Wilson of Florida and Cleo Fields of Louisiana, along with D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), the CBC dean.
Their departures coincide with losses among Black lawmakers. Rep. David Scott (D) of Georgia died in April after more than 20 years in Congress. Former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner (D), who was elected to Congress from Texas in 2024, died in March 2025 soon after taking office.
The departure of lawmakers is more noticeable because of the careers that cover generations of Black political progress, from the Civil Rights Movement to state legislatures, city halls, and Congress.
“For 35 years, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton has honorably served the District of Columbia and our nation,” Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette D. Clarke (D) of New York and members of the CBC said after Norton announced her retirement.
Celebrated as a longtime “warrior on the Hill,” Norton’s departure, for many, highlights the legacy leaving the House soon.
She has represented Washington since 1991 and, as the longest-serving current member of the CBC, became a guide and mentor for Black lawmakers who came after her.
But Norton’s political journey started long before she came to Capitol Hill.
Norton, who grew up in Washington, worked with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee during the Civil Rights Movement. She became an attorney and law professor and even argued successfully before the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 1977, former President Jimmy Carter chose her to lead the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, making her the first woman to chair the agency.
“As the dean of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congresswoman Norton has been a guiding force for our members for decades, sharing her wisdom and expertise and helping to shape generations of leadership,” the caucus said in honoring her leadership.
In Congress, Norton was Washington’s strongest advocate for D.C. statehood and greater rights for residents who pay federal taxes but lack voting representation.
The CBC also credited her with helping guide federal actions that led to major redevelopment projects in Washington, such as the Wharf, Capitol Riverfront, NoMa, the Walter Reed campus, St. Elizabeths West, and the transfer of the RFK Stadium site to the District.
“The CBC is deeply grateful for her leadership, mentorship, and lasting impact on D.C. and our nation,” the caucus said.
50 Years of the CBCF as Leaders Leave After Years of Service
This transition is happening during a symbolic year for another group created to support and grow Black political leadership.
The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation turned 50 on Aug. 4, marking five decades since it was founded in 1976. The nonprofit, which is separate from the Congressional Black Caucus, has spent those years developing leaders, doing policy research, and creating programs focused on issues affecting Black communities.
The 50th-anniversary theme, “Rooted, Ready, and Rising.,” will also shape this year’s Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference (ALC), which brings lawmakers, advocates, policy experts, business leaders, and others to Washington.
“Fifty years ago, our founders laid the groundwork for an institution built on an unyielding vision of equity, opportunity, and transformational leadership,” CBCF President and CEO Nicole Austin-Hillery said.
The anniversary places an even brighter spotlight on the group created to support Black political leadership, which is celebrating its past while Congress prepares for a future without several lawmakers who shaped Black political power for decades.
In Philadelphia, Evans has represented Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District since 2016, but his career in public office goes back much further.
Evans spent 35 years in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives before joining Congress. In Washington, he has pushed for federal action on gun violence, public education funding, economic mobility, and the racial wealth gap. He even proposed a multibillion-dollar federal plan to reduce gun violence across the country.
Davis has an even longer electoral history.
The Chicago Democrat has represented Illinois’ 7th Congressional District since 1997, but he began his career on the Chicago City Council in 1979. He later served on the Cook County Board of Commissioners before being elected to Congress.
Over the years, Davis has focused on anti-poverty programs, criminal justice, health care, and support for working families and older Americans.
Watson Coleman brought almost 20 years of experience in the New Jersey Legislature to Washington in 2015, when she became the first Black woman elected to Congress from New Jersey.
She became a leading advocate for civil rights and reproductive freedom and helped introduce the CROWN Act, a law meant to stop race-based discrimination based on hair texture and hairstyles. In 2022, she was one of the lawmakers arrested during an abortion-rights protest near the Supreme Court.
Veasey has represented a North Texas district since 2013, after eight years in the Texas House. In Congress, he has worked on voting rights, economic opportunity, health care, and reproductive rights — issues that are especially important in a state where court battles over districts and minority voting power have gone on for years.
Wilson, who is 83, was first elected to Congress in 2010. She confirmed this year that she will not run for another term.
Before joining Congress, the Florida Democrat was an educator, elementary school principal, school board member, and state legislator. She also started the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project, a mentoring program to help Black boys and young men succeed through education, mentoring, and career opportunities.
Wilson also urged Congress to address disparities affecting Black men and boys, including by helping create the Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries called Wilson “an unyielding champion of our children, a defender of the disadvantaged and a voice for the voiceless.”
“For more than a decade in the United States House of Representatives, Frederica Wilson has been a relentless advocate for our young people,” Jeffries said.
Fields is leaving differently.
The Louisiana Democrat is not retiring from public life. He is leaving Congress to run for the Louisiana Senate, returning to the chamber where his career began at age 24, when he became the youngest person ever elected to the state Senate.
Fields first joined Congress in 1993 and left after two terms. Almost 30 years later, he returned to the House in 2025 after Louisiana created a second Black-majority congressional district.
His latest departure coincides with another redistricting fight that changed Louisiana’s congressional map. The CBC said this shows how closely changes in Congress are linked to the ongoing fight over Black voting power.
“Congressman Fields’ career tells a story that is, unfortunately, all too familiar in the struggle for voting rights,” Clarke and CBC members said.
The caucus said this was the second time changes to Louisiana’s congressional map had affected Fields’ time in Congress.
“Congressman Fields’ journey, and the experiences of the communities impacted by partisan racial gerrymandering, are a powerful reminder that the work of protecting the right to vote and ensuring fair representation is never finished,” the CBC said.
Passing the Torch
The turnover is not just among Black lawmakers.
By late July, 59 House members had said they would not run for their current seats in 2026. Some are retiring, while others are running for the Senate, governor, or other offices.
But numbers alone do not show what the CBC is losing.
Norton was active in civil rights before the Congressional Black Caucus even existed. Davis has held office since Jimmy Carter was president. Evans spent 35 years in Pennsylvania’s legislature before another decade in Washington. Watson Coleman broke barriers in New Jersey politics. Wilson went from the classroom to Congress. Veasey has fought for voting rights in a state at the heart of the national redistricting battle. Fields’ career has twice crossed paths with fights over whether Black voters in Louisiana could elect candidates of their choice.
Their departures will test how quickly a new generation can build relationships, gain committee experience, and acquire the knowledge that only comes with time.
“Over my 10 years here, I think Donald Trump has helped catalyze a real toxic partisan atmosphere,” said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.). “I have not known normal. And I think for anybody who came here expecting something different and then being served up this kind of toxic brew of partisanship and character attacks and name-calling is going to be severely disappointed,” he added.
This year’s ALC makes the foundation’s anniversary more than just a ceremony.
The foundation was created in 1976 as Black political representation in Washington was growing. Fifty years later, its anniversary comes as a new generation gets ready to take on more responsibility for what earlier leaders built.
Austin-Hillery said the foundation is using the anniversary to honor its history and get ready for what comes next.
“Today, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, we proudly embrace this significant achievement under the banner of Rooted, Ready, and Rising,” she said. “We honor our enduring legacy and commitment to advancing the well-being of the global Black community and all people throughout our nation and worldwide.”
