Eva Clayton

Today’s goal is to research former Representative Clayton. It’s 4 AM and I can’t sleep, so why not do a little digging around on the Internet before I hit the library later. My intial interest in Clayton came from knowing that she served in the House representing North Carolina and was the first Black woman elected to the House in North Carolina. In 1992, she became one of two African Americans to be elected in NC since 1901. Clayton, like a number of minority representatives, came into office in 1992 when districts were redrawn (following the 1990 census) to provide more adequate representation for minority groups. Immediately, Congress became its most diverse in history and immediately, lawsuits were filed in federal district courts across the nation stating that the new districts were unconstitutional. This issue hit hardest in the South where some Black communities had Black representation for the first time since Reconstruction. Over several years following the 1992 election, federal courts found the new districts to be unconstitutional and ordered the states to set to work to redraw the districts. The case of North Carolina resulted in a split decision at the federal district level, so the case was taken to the Supreme Court. In Shaw v Reno, “Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote for the Court majority that any map that groups people ‘who may have little in common with one another but the color of their skin bears an uncomfortable resemblance to political apartheid.’”[1] North Carolina soon joined Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana on the growing list of states that had to redraw their districts again.

So where did Representative Clayton fit into this fray? What were her major agenda issues while in office? What brought an end to her 10 year legislative run in 2004? Those are my questions for research later today—after I teach and get a nap….


[1] Reapportionment and redistricting. (1999). In D. R. Tarr, & A. O'Connor (Eds.), Congress a to z. Washington: CQ Press. Retrieved June 21, 2005, from CQ Electronic Library, CQ Congress Collection, http://library.cqpress.com/congress/cr050800. Document ID: cr050800.