Cleo Fields: “The gentleman mentioned diversity, and mentioned how the whole purpose of the Voting Rights Act or one of the purposes…”

“The gentleman mentioned diversity, and mentioned how the whole purpose of the Voting Rights Act or one of the purposes of the Voting Rights Act was to integrate the political system, such as the U.S. Congress and State legislatures across the country. The gentleman is absolutely right. Even today there are 535 Members that serve in the U.S. Congress, as you know, there are 435 that serve in this esteemed body and then 100 across the hall in the other distinguished body. And of the 535 Members, only 40 of them are African-Americans. So for anyone to even opine the thought that a person's rights have been violated simply because there are 40 African-Americans in the U.S. Congress, in a body that consists of 535 people, is absolutely wrong.”