Since last year, when the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies published Black Elected Officials: A Statistical Summary, 1993-1997, the number of black elected officials (BEOs) in the United States increased by 212, from 8,658 to 8,868, a 2.4 percent increase over the previous year (Table 1). In 1970, the first year in which the Joint Center collected data on these officials, there were 1,469 BEOs. The 1998 total represents a historic high. The largest categorical increase in BEOs was at the municipal level, where there was an increase of 162 positions, a 3.9 percent rise. The other category where increases occurred was in education, with 55 more positions (a 2.8 percent rise). In all other categories, the changes in the numbers were insignificant. Since the increase in the total number of BEOs was 212, and municipal and education offices increased by 217, all other categories of office had a net decline of five black elected officials between 1997 and 1998.

Date Published: 1999