Angela Williams, Sole Black on Ballot to Serve in State Legislature, Raises Issues of Race in Colorado

Angela Williams is the sole black candidate on the ballot to serve in Colorado state legislature and the diminishing representation of blacks and Latinos is alarming to some politicians.

I came across an interesting article on the Denver Post website about Democrat Angela Williams being the lone black candidate on the ballot to serve in the state legislature. I disagree with the tone of the article that interjects race in the process. It is worth noting that Ms. Williams hasn't interjected race in her decision to run, nor has she made race an issue in her campaign, so I am a little taken aback by why the Denver Post decided to make it about race.

Williams is running for the seat held by term-limited House Speaker Terrance Carroll — the only black lawmaker in the Colorado General Assembly. Much has been made in recent years about Denver's changing politics — 2007 marked the first time in decades there were no Latinos from Denver serving in the state House. But this is the first election in more than six decades where there's a chance the upcoming legislative assembly might not have a black among its 100 members.

The diminishing minority representation alarms longtime Colorado politicians. "It's hard to imagine," said Wellington Webb, Denver's first black mayor and a Williams supporter. "For those progressives who think integration and diversity is important, I think that should be one of the considerations they take into account if there are competent, qualified minorities who are candidates," he said.

Of Colorado's roughly 5 million residents, 71 percent are white, 20 percent Hispanic, 4 percent black and 3 percent Asian, according to census data released last week.Source: Denver Post

The fact that this is diminishing representation in black and Latino communities have no bearing on Ms. Williams being the lone black candidate. One has to look beyond that to ascertain why. Aren't there enough blacks and Latinos in Colorado desirous of holding elected office? I think the answer to why Angela Williams is the only black candidate lies in getting to the heart of the question I posed. This isn't about whites forcing this trend. It's about the blacks and Latinos stepping up to the plate to run for elected office.