List of African-American U.S. state firsts

African Americans are a demographic minority in the United States. African-Americans' initial achievements in various fields historically establish a foothold, providing a precedent for more widespread cultural change. The shorthand phrase for this is "breaking the color barrier."[1][2]

In addition to major national- and international-level firsts, African-Americans have achieved firsts on a statewide basis.

19th century

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  • 1832
First governor of African descent in what is now the US: Pío Pico, an Afro-Mexican, was the last governor of Alta California before it was ceded to the US. Like all Californios, Pico automatically became a US citizen in 1848. He was elected to the Los Angeles Common Council in 1853, but he did not assume office.[citation needed]
  • 1868
First elected African-American lieutenant governor: Oscar Dunn, Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana
First 33 African-American legislators in Georgia: see Original 33
  • 1870
First African-American senator from Mississippi: Hiram R. Revels (also first in U.S.)
First African-American acting governor: Oscar James Dunn of Louisiana from May until August 9, 1871, when sitting Governor Warmoth was incapacitated and chose to recuperate in Mississippi. (see also: Douglas Wilder, 1990)
  • 1872
First African-American governor of Louisiana: P. B. S. Pinchback (Also first in U.S.) (non-elected; see also Douglas Wilder, 1990) (Also first elected senator but was denied seat)[3]
  • 1873
First African-American Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives, and of any state legislature: John R. Lynch
First African American elected to the Tennessee General Assembly: Sampson W. Keeble
  • 1876
First African American elected to the Illinois General Assembly: John W. E. Thomas
  • 1878
First African American elected mayor in New York State (village president of Cleveland): Ned Sherman
  • 1879
First African American elected to the Wyoming Legislature: William Jefferson Hardin
First African American elected to the Ohio General Assembly: George Washington Williams
  • 1880
First African American elected to the Indiana General Assembly: James Sidney Hinton[4][5]
  • 1885
First African American elected to the Rhode Island General Assembly: Mahlon Van Horne
  • 1889
First African-American female principal in Massachusetts and the Northeast: Maria Louise Baldwin, supervising white faculty and a predominantly white student body at the Agassiz Grammar School in Cambridge (renamed the Maria L. Baldwin School in 2004).[6][7]
  • 1893
First African-American member elected to the Michigan House of Representatives: William Webb Ferguson
  • 1898
First African-American member elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives: John Francis Wheaton[8]


20th century

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  • 1906
First African-American elected to the Wisconsin Legislature: Lucian H. Palmer
  • 1917
First African American to enter the University of Oregon: Mabel Byrd[9]
  • 1918
First African-American elected to political office in California: Frederick Madison Roberts, California State Assembly
  • 1920
First African-American elected to the Missouri legislature: Walthall Moore
  • 1924
First African-American elected to the Illinois Senate: Adelbert Roberts
  • 1930
First African Americans elected as judges in the state of New York: James S. Watson and Charles E. Toney[10]
  • 1938
First African-American woman to be elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly and to any state legislature: Crystal Bird Fauset
  • 1939
First African-American woman to own a cosmetology school in Iowa: Pauline Brown Humphrey[11]
  • 1948
First African American elected to the Delaware House of Representatives: William J. Winchester
  • 1950
First African-American woman to be elected to the West Virginia Legislature: Elizabeth Simpson Drewry
First African-American woman to be elected to the Michigan Legislature: Charline White
  • 1952
First African American to graduate from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences: Edith Irby Jones[12]
  • 1955
First African-American woman elected to the New York State Legislature: Bessie A. Buchanan
First African-American elected to the Maryland State Senate: Harry A. Cole
  • 1956
First African-American student to attend the University of Alabama: Autherine Lucy[13] Her expulsion from the institution later that year led to the university's President Oliver Carmichael's resignation.[14][15]
First African American to teach at college or university level in California: Betty Smith Williams.[16][17]
  • 1957
First African-American woman elected to the New Jersey Legislature: Madaline A. Williams
  • 1958
First African-American women elected to the Maryland General Assembly: Verda F. Welcome and Irma George Dixon
First African-American woman elected to the Illinois General Assembly: Floy Clements
First African American to graduate from the University of Maryland: Elaine J. Coates[18]
  • 1959
First African American to graduate from the University of Maryland: Elaine J. Coates[19]
  • 1962
First African-American attorney general of Massachusetts: Edward Brooke. Also first African American to hold Massachusetts statewide office, and first African-American attorney general of any state.
  • 1963
First African American elected to the Delaware Senate: Herman Holloway
  • 1964
First African-American woman elected to the Indiana Legislature: Daisy Riley Lloyd
First African-American woman elected to the New York State Senate: Constance Baker Motley
  • 1966
First African-American woman elected to the Texas Legislature: Barbara Jordan
First African American known lesbian state legislator: Barbara Jordan
First African-American woman elected to the Georgia General Assembly: Grace Towns Hamilton
First African-American appointed to New York State Board of Regents: Kenneth Bancroft Clark
First African-American senator from Massachusetts: Edward Brooke. (Also first post-Reconstruction African American elected to the U.S. Senate and first African American elected to the U.S. Senate by popular vote).
First African-American woman in the California Legislature: Yvonne Brathwaite Burke
First African-American woman elected to the Tennessee General Assembly: Dorothy Lavinia Brown
First African-American woman elected to the Arizona Legislature: Ethel Maynard
  • 1967
First African-American woman admitted to the Mississippi Bar: Marian Wright Edelman
First African-American woman elected to the Montana Legislature: Geraldine W. Travis
  • 1968
First African-American elected to the Florida Legislature since Reconstruction: Joe Lang Kershaw
  • 1969
First African-American elected mayor of a Mississippi city since Reconstruction: Charles Evers, in Fayette, Mississippi[20]
  • 1970
First African-Americans elected to the Alaska Legislature: Willard L. Bowman and Joshua Wright
First African-American woman elected to the Delaware General Assembly: Henrietta R. Johnson
First African-American woman elected to the Florida Legislature: Gwen Cherry
  • 1971
First African-American woman elected to the Washington Legislature: Peggy Maxie
  • 1972
First African-American elected to the Wisconsin Senate: Monroe Swan
  • 1973
First African-American woman elected to the Massachusetts General Court: Doris Bunte
First African-American woman elected to the Connecticut General Assembly: Margaret E. Morton
  • 1974
First African-American woman elected to the Michigan State Board of Education: Barbara Roberts Mason
First African-American man elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives: Henry Richardson
  • 1975
First African-American woman elected to the South Carolina Legislature: Juanita Goggins
  • 1976
First African-American appointed as a judge in Federal District Court in Virginia: Robert H. Cooley III (1939–1998), appointed to the Eastern District[21]
First African-American elected mayor in New Mexico: Albert Johnson[22]
First African-American to serve on the California Supreme Court: Wiley W. Manuel
First African-American speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives, and of any state legislature in the United States since Reconstruction: K. Leroy Irvis
First African-American woman elected to the Wisconsin Legislature: Marcia P. Coggs
First African-American woman elected to the Illinois Senate: Earlean Collins
  • 1978
First African-American appointed to the office of Michigan State Treasurer: Loren E. Monroe[24]
First African-American woman elected to the Ohio Legislature: Helen Rankin
  • 1979
First African-American elected to a statewide office in Illinois: Roland Burris, office of Comptroller
First African-American elected to a statewide office in Wisconsin: Vel Phillips, office of Secretary of State
  • 1980
First African-American speaker of the California State Assembly: Willie Lewis Brown Jr.
  • 1981
First African-American woman elected to the Arkansas General Assembly: Irma Hunter Brown
First African-American elected to the Utah Senate: Terry Lee Williams
  • 1984
First African-American elected to a statewide office in Georgia: Robert Benham, Supreme Court of Georgia
First African-American woman to be elected to the Virginia General Assembly: Yvonne B. Miller
  • 1985
First African-American woman to be elected to the Mississippi Legislature: Alyce Clarke
First African-American woman elected to the Oregon Legislature: Margaret Carter
First African-American elected to the Wyoming Legislature: Harriet Elizabeth Byrd
  • 1990
First African-American governor of Virginia: Douglas Wilder (also first elected governor in US; see also P. B. S. Pinchback, 1872)
First African-American woman elected to the Alaska Legislature: Bettye Davis
  • 1991
First African-American woman elected to the Louisiana State Senate: Diana Bajoie
  • 1992
First African-American elected to a statewide office in Indiana: Pamela Carter, office of Attorney General
First African-American Minnesota Supreme Court justice: Alan Page
  • 1993
First African-American senator from Illinois: Carol Moseley Braun. (Also first African-American woman elected to the United States Senate, the first African-American U.S. Senator for the Democratic Party, the first woman to defeat an incumbent U.S. Senator in an election, and the first female Senator from Illinois).
  • 1994
First African-American woman elected to the Nevada Legislature: Bernice Mathews
First African-American woman elected to the Delaware Senate: Margaret Rose Henry
  • 1996
First African-American woman elected to the Oregon Legislature: Avel Gordly
  • 1998
First African-American woman elected State Treasurer and first African-American woman elected statewide in Connecticut: Denise Nappier[25]
First African-American elected to office of Attorney General Georgia: Thurbert E. Baker


21st century

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Official portrait of Kamala Harris, 2011
  • 2001
First African-American woman elected to the Minnesota Legislature: Neva Walker
  • 2002
First African-American lieutenant governor of Maryland and first elected to statewide office in Maryland: Michael Steele (see also: 2009)
  • 2004
First African-American District Attorney in California: Kamala Harris (San Francisco) (see also: 2010, 2017)
First African-American Oklahoma Supreme Court justice: Tom Colbert
First African-American Wisconsin Supreme Court justice: Louis B. Butler
First African-American Auditor of Accounts of Vermont and first elected to statewide office in Vermont: Randy Brock
First African-American congresswoman elected in Wisconsin's history: Gwen Moore
  • 2006
First African-American elected governor of Massachusetts: Deval Patrick
First African-American lieutenant governor of New York: David Paterson
  • 2007
First African-American appointed State Treasurer of New Jersey: Michellene Davis
  • 2008
First African-American woman elected Speaker of the California State Assembly: Karen Bass
First African-American governor of New York State: David Paterson (elected as lieutenant governor, succeeded on resignation of previous governor)
First African-American women elected to the Nebraska Legislature: Tanya Cook and Brenda Council
  • 2009
First bicameral state legislature to have both chambers headed simultaneously by African Americans: Peter Groff and Terrance Carroll of Colorado.
  • 2010
First African-American elected Attorney General of California: Kamala Harris (see also: 2004, 2017)
First African-American Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court: Roderick L. Ireland
First African-American elected to the Idaho Legislature: Cherie Buckner-Webb
  • 2012
First African-American elected to the Idaho Senate: Cherie Buckner-Webb
  • 2013
First African-American senator from South Carolina: Tim Scott[26] (Also the first African-American to serve both houses of the U.S. Congress.)
First African-American woman to be appointed to a seat on the New York Court of Appeals: Sheila Abdus-Salaam.
First African-American senator from New Jersey: Cory Booker
  • 2014
First African-American senator elected from the South since Reconstruction: Tim Scott[27]
  • 2015
First African-American elected Speaker of the New York State Assembly: Carl Heastie[28]
First African-American Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky and first elected to statewide office in Kentucky: Jenean Hampton[29][30]
First African-American woman elected to the Utah Legislature: Sandra Hollins
  • 2017
First African-American United States Senator from California: Kamala Harris (see also: 2004, 2010)
First African-American elected lieutenant governor of New Jersey: Sheila Oliver[31]
First African-American out trans woman to be elected to public office in the United States: Andrea Jenkins
  • 2018
First female African-American major-party candidate for governor: Stacey Abrams, Georgia
First African-American elected Lieutenant Governor of Michigan: Garlin Gilchrist[32]
First African-American Attorney General of New York: Letitia James[33]
First African-American and First woman elected Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates: Adrienne A. Jones
First African-American elected Lieutenant Governor of Illinois: Juliana Stratton
  • 2019
First African-American elected Attorney General of Kentucky: Daniel Cameron
First Surgeon General for the State of California: Nadine Burke Harris[34]
  • 2020
First African-American congresswoman elected in Missouri's history: Cori Bush[35]
First African-American elected Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina: Mark Robinson
  • 2021
First African-American senator from Georgia and first African-American Democratic Senator from the South: Raphael Warnock[36]
First African-American woman to serve on the Supreme Court of Missouri: Robin Ransom[37]
First African-American woman elected Lieutenant Governor of Virginia: Winsome Sears
First African-American woman to serve as Secretary of the State of Connecticut: Natalie Braswell[38]
  • 2022
First African-American elected Attorney General of Maryland: Anthony Brown
First African-American woman elected Attorney General of Massachusetts: Andrea Campbell
First African-American elected Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania: Austin Davis
First African-American congresswoman elected in Pennsylvania's history: Summer Lee
First African-American elected governor of Maryland: Wes Moore
First African-American elected Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives: Joe Tate
First African-American woman elected Secretary of State of Connecticut: Stephanie Thomas
First African-American elected Secretary of State of California: Shirley Weber
  • 2023
First African-American woman elected Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives: Joanna McClinton[39]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Juguo, Zhang. W. E. B. Du Bois: The Quest for the Abolition of the Color Line, Routledge, 2001 - ISBN 0-415-93087-1
  2. ^ Herbst, Philip H. The Color of Words: an encyclopaedic dictionary of ethnic bias in the United States, Intercultural Press, p. 57, 1997 - ISBN 1-877864-97-8
  3. ^ Knight, Christina (November 7, 2013). "P.B.S. Pinchback. The Black Governor Who Almost Was a Senator". The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  4. ^ Gregg, John (February 23, 2012). "Standing with Black trailblazer James S. Hinton". Indianapolisrecorder.com. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  5. ^ Indiana Black History Public Art Legacy Project Archived 2013-03-16 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Vogel, Nathaniel (April 2002). "The Mismeasure of Maria Baldwin". Peacework Magazine. Archived from the original on October 23, 2007. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  7. ^ Dorgan, Lauren R. (May 22, 2002). "Committee Renames Local Agassiz School". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  8. ^ Wheaton, John Frances "Frank, J. Frank", Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, Accessed October 5, 2018.
  9. ^ "Untold Stories: Black History". University of Oregon Special Collections and University Archives Blog. February 4, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  10. ^ Judicial Friends Association. (n.d.). Heroic beginnings - judicial friends association. Retrieved January 26, 2023, from https://judicialfriends.org/heroic-beginnings/https://judicialfriends.org/heroic-beginnings
  11. ^ "IWF Celebrates Black History in Iowa: Pauline Brown Humphrey". The Iowa Women's Foundation. February 25, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  12. ^ "University to Graduate First Negro Student". Hope Star. Hope, Arkansas. May 19, 1952. p. 3. Retrieved December 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Civil rights pioneer Vivian Jones dies". USA Today. October 13, 2005. Retrieved November 23, 2007.
  14. ^ "Expelled in 1956, Autherine Lucy Foster Receives Honorary Doctorate from University of Alabama". May 6, 2019.
  15. ^ "Education: Goodbye to 'Bama". Time. November 19, 1956. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  16. ^ Robison, Daniel. "Uniting Nurses of Color". Case Western Reserve University. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  17. ^ Burnette, Margarette (March 30, 2013). "Celebrating Excellence: Past, Present and Future". Minority Nurse. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  18. ^ Svrluga, Susan (May 24, 2019). "After a tumultuous year, U-Md. graduates celebrate new beginnings". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  19. ^ Svrluga, Susan (May 24, 2019). "After a tumultuous year, U-Md. graduates celebrate new beginnings". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  20. ^ Neil R. McMillen, Dark Journey: Black Mississippians in the Age of Jim Crow, Chicago: University of Illinois, 1990, p.26
  21. ^ "Getting Word: African American Families of Monticello – Robert H. Cooley III". Charlottesville, VA: Monticello. Archived from the original on December 23, 2014.
  22. ^ "First black mayor". Albuquerque Journal. September 2, 1976. p. 53. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "First black mayor". Albuquerque Journal. September 2, 1976. p. 53. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Loren Monroe, first black State Treasurer of Michigan, dead at 87". Michigan Chronicle. June 4, 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  25. ^ "Office of Connecticut State Treasurer Denise L. Nappier". Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
  26. ^ "Tim Scott's swearing-in as senator caps his historic rise". McClatchy Newspapers. January 4, 2013. Archived from the original on December 20, 2013. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
  27. ^ "Political firsts: How history was made this midterm election". USA Today. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  28. ^ "Carl E. Heastie". New York State Assembly. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  29. ^ Phillips, Amber (November 4, 2015). "Meet Jenean Hampton, the first black statewide officeholder in Kentucky. And, she's a Republican". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  30. ^ Fund, John (November 3, 2015). "Kentucky's New GOP Lt. Gov. Is Black Tea-Party Activist". National Review. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  31. ^ Sheila Oliver becomes New Jersey's first Black lieutenant governor, New York Amsterdam News (November 8, 2017).
  32. ^ Eggert, David (November 7, 2018). "Democrat Gretchen Whitmer wins Michigan governor race, beating Bill Schuette". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  33. ^ Westerman, Ashley (January 1, 2019). "N.Y. Swears In New Attorney General After A Tumultuous Year For The Office". NPR. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  34. ^ Crudup, Devin (April 6, 2020). "Meet the Black Woman Appointed as California's First-Ever Surgeon General". AfroTech. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  35. ^ Derek Major. November 5, 2020. "Here Are The Black Americans That Have Made History In The 2020 Election" Black Enterprise. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  36. ^ "'The new south': Raphael Warnock becomes Georgia's first Black senator". The Guardian. January 6, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  37. ^ Kuang, Jeanne (May 24, 2021). "Parson appoints Robin Ransom, first Black woman to serve on Missouri Supreme Court". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  38. ^ Pazniokas, Mark (December 10, 2021). "Natalie Braswell to be named comptroller after Lembo steps down". CT Mirror. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  39. ^ Scolforo, Mark (February 28, 2023). "McClinton voted Pa. speaker; first Black woman to win post". Associated Press. Retrieved February 28, 2023.