Final answer:
The number of Latino and African American congressional politicians is indeed not proportionate to their population percentages in the U.S., making the statement true. Despite incremental improvements, Congress still does not fully mirror the nation's demographic makeup.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that the number of congressional politicians who are Latino and African American is not proportionate to their percentage of the population in the United States is true. In the 117th Congress, which began in January 2021, African Americans and Latinos were still underrepresented compared to their actual percentages in the U.S. population. For example, while African Americans comprised approximately 13.4% of the population, they accounted for a smaller percentage of state legislators and Congressional members. Similarly, Latinos, who make up 18.5% of the U.S. population, also held a disproportionately small percentage of legislative positions.
Demonstrating this underrepresentation, if African Americans were represented proportionally, there would be 12 senators and 52 members of the House based on their population. However, historically, the numbers have been significantly lower. The trend of inequality persists despite incremental increases in minority Congressional representation over recent decades. This issue ties into broader concepts of descriptive representation, which refers to the idea that elected bodies should mirror the demographic composition of their constituents to better represent their interests. The current composition of Congress is still not reflective of the broader U.S. population demographics.