U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans, and U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, began their careers in public service early, both eventually serving the ¶¶Òõh Legislature. Fields left the state Senate and served two terms in the House of Representatives from 1993 to 1997. After ¶¶Òõh's congressional districts were restructured and Fields was left without a seat, he returned to the state Senate. Carter made history in 1991 as the first African American elected to serve the state's 102d District in the state House. After stints on the New Orleans City Council and in the state Senate, Carter was elected to serve the state's 2nd Congressional district. He was the only Democrat in the ¶¶Òõh congressional delegation until Fields returned to Congress to represent the state's 6th Congressional district after the court ordered that a second, Black-majority district be created. Carter and Fields sat down with columnist Will Sutton in Washington, D.C. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.