Holmes Norton: 'Is There Something About the Way Elections Are Done in Missouri?'

Holmes Norton: 'Is There Something About the Way Elections Are Done in Missouri?'

During an appearance on MSNBC on Tuesday, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) questioned why so many of the elected officials in Ferguson, Mo. are white, deeming leadership’s racial make up to be “troublesome.”

“Here you have the mostly white police force in a mostly black community. But I’m perplexed about why most of the elected officials are white as well. Is there something about the way elections are done in Missouri or in the county? That’s troublesome,” Washington, D.C.’s non-voting delegate to the House of Representatives, told host Jose Diaz Balart.

“Usually when you get a minority community or a community that becomes mostly minority, you get some diversity of representation,” Holmes Norton So you may have an elected leadership, as well as a police force, that does not feel that they are truly representative of the community and that’s poison,” she added.

According to Holmes Norton, the black community needs to get involved and make sure they elect people who represent them.

“Hey, black community! You see what happens when you don’t have your own elected officials out there, people who have had experiences similar to your own. I don’t understand that. Again, there may be something about the way the elections are conducted in that county. But if I were in that community, the first thing I would be doing is organize voters to go to the polls in November.”

Follow Caroline May on Twitter @c_maydc

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