~~~(African American) Representative J. C. Watts, speaking of The Black Congressional Congress
"Mr. Cohen asked for admission, and he got his answer. He's white and the Caucus is black. It's time to move on. We have racial policies to pursue and we are pursuing them, as Mr. Cohen has learned. It's an unwritten rule. It's understood."
"Quite simply, Rep. Cohen will have to accept what the rest of the country will have to accept – there has been an unofficial Congressional White Caucus for over 200 years, and now it's our turn to say who can join 'the club.' He does not, and cannot, meet the membership criteria, unless he can change his skin color. Primarily, we are concerned with the needs and concerns of the black population, and we will not allow white America to infringe on those objectives."
~~~Rep. William Lacy Clay, Jr. (CBC member, and son of a founding member) in response to (white) freshman Tennessee Democrat Steve Cohen's unsuccessful 2007 attempt to join the CBC, in the interest of better serving his majority black constituents.