NPR Political Editor Ken Rudin answers your questions. This week: African-American women in Congress, and a look at Democratic contenders for the White House in 2008.

House of Representatives historian Matthew Wasniewski and House curator Farar Elliott talked the history of African Americans who served in Congress during the late 19th century.

Among the candidates are four African-American women who are likely to be new additions to the U.S. House: Democrats Brenda Lawrence of Michigan, Alma Adams of North Carolina, and Stacey Plaskett ...

There were no African American members until the 41st Congress (1869-1871), when preacher Hiram Rhodes Revels was elected to represent Mississippi in the U.S. Senate in 1870.

The percentage of House seats won by African American candidates in 2012 -- a number that has risen in every post-redistricting election since 1922: 9.8 percent.

Of the 98 women in Congress, only 14 are African American women. Former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun (D-IL), an African American who served from 1993 to 1999, ...

WASHINGTON —Pomp, circumstance, and policy converged when the 116 th Congress convened in the nation’s capital, ushering historic numbers of women, African Americans and people of color into ...

On Wednesday in Washington D.C., Carla Hayden became the first woman and the first African-American to be sworn in as the Librarian of Congress. She's facing a huge change in how we interact with ...

In this Women’s History Month feature, host Tezlyn Figaro honors #ShirleyChisholm, who made history on January 21, 1969, as the first African-American woman elected to #Congress. Representing # ...

Collins made history as the fourth African American woman in Congress and the first to represent the Midwest. Prior to her ...

Here’s a closer look at the Black, Hispanic, Asian American, American Indian and Alaska Native women who have served in Congress: Of the 57 Black women ever to serve in Congress, 55 have served in the ...

In February 2017, shortly after Carla Hayden was sworn in as the 14th librarian of Congress and the first woman and first African American to hold the position, Roll Call spoke to her about her ...