From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
African Americans have served in state legislatures, with several interruptions, since Alexander Twilight was elected to the
Vermont lower house in 1836. Representation increased during the
Reconstruction era , plummeted during the ensuing decades, and rose again during the 1950s and 1960s with the
civil rights movement . The last state to elect its first African-American state legislator was
North Dakota in 2022.
Nationwide
Legislator
Image
Legislative achievement
Seat held
Took office
Left office
Party
Ref
Mathias de Sousa
1st African-American man elected to any state legislature
General Assembly Upper House
1641
?
N/A
[1]
John R. Lynch
1st African-American man to serve as speaker of any state lower house
Mississippi's 6th District (Created by State Legislature)
1873
1883
Republican
Minnie Buckingham Harper
1st African-American woman to serve in any state legislature
Rep. from
Keystone, West Virginia
1928
1930
Crystal Bird Fauset
1st African-American woman elected to any state legislature
18th District of Pennsylvania
1938
1940
Democratic
Cora Brown
1st African-American woman elected (rather than appointed to a state senate
Michigan State Senate from 2nd & 3rd Distrist
1953
1956
Democratic
William Owen Bush
1st African-American man elected to any state Legislature on the West Cost
First sitting of the Washington House of Representatives
1889
1895
Republican
Karen Bass
1st African-American woman to serve as speaker of any state lower house
California State Assembly from the 47th District
2004
2010
Democratic
Andrea Stewart-Cousins
1st African-American woman to serve as speaker of any state upper house
New York Senate from the 35th District
2007
2019–Present
Peter Groff
1st bicameral state legislature to have both chambers headed simultaneously by African Americans
Colorado Senate from the 33rd District
2003
2009
Democratic
Terrance Carroll
Colorado Speaker of the House, 7th District
2009/2003
2011
Alabama
Alaska
Arkansas
Arizona
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
first African-American man elected to the
Florida House of Representatives since Reconstruction:
Joe Lang Kershaw (1968)
first African-American woman elected to the
Florida House of Representatives :
Gwen Cherry (1970)
first African-American woman elected to the
Florida Senate :
Carrie Meek (1980)
first African-American man elected to the
Florida Senate :
Arnett E. Girardeau (1982)
Georgia
first 33 African-American legislators in
Georgia : see
Original 33 (1868)
first African-American woman elected to the
George House of Representatives :
Grace Towns Hamilton (1966)
first African-American woman elected to the
Georgia State Senate :
Nadine Thomas (1992)
first African-American man elected to the
Georgia State Senate since Reconstruction:
Leroy Johnson (1963)
first African-American man to serve as Majority Leader of the
Georgia State Senate :
Charles Walker (1996)
Hawaii
first African-American man elected to the
Hawaii House of Representatives and
Hawaii Senate :
Charles Campbell (1976; 1978)
first African-American woman elected to the
Hawaii House of Representatives :
Helene Hale (2000)
Idaho
first African-American woman elected to the
Idaho House of Representatives :
Cherie Buckner-Webb (2010)
first African-American woman elected to the
Idaho Senate :
Cherie Buckner-Webb (2012)
first African-American man elected to the
Idaho House of Representatives :
Chris Mathias (2020)
Illinois
first African-American man elected to the
Illinois General Assembly :
John W. E. Thomas (1876)
first African-American man elected to the
Illinois Senate :
Adelbert H. Roberts (1924)
first African-American woman elected to the
Illinois General Assembly :
Floy Clements (1958)
first African-American woman elected to the
Illinois Senate :
Earlean Collins (1977)
Indiana
first African-American man elected to the
Indiana House of Representatives :
James Sidney Hinton (1880)
[3]
[4]
first African-American man elected to the
Indiana Senate :
Robert Brokenburr (1940)
first African-American woman elected to the
Indiana House of Representatives :
Daisy Riley Lloyd (1964)
first African-American woman elected to the
Indiana Senate :
Julia Carson (1977)
Iowa
first African-American woman elected to the
Iowa House of Representatives :
Willie Stevenson Glanton (1964)
first African-American man elected to the
Iowa House of Representatives :
James H. Jackson (1964)
first African American elected to the
Iowa Senate :
Thomas Mann (1983)
[6]
Kansas
first African-American man elected to the
Kansas House of Representatives :
Alfred Fairfax (1888)
[7]
first African-American woman elected to the
Kansas House of Representatives :
Barbara Ballard (1993)
first African-American men elected to the
Kansas Senate :
Curtis McClinton Sr. and
George Haley (1960)
first African-American woman elected to the
Kansas Senate :
Oletha Faust-Goudeau (2008)
Kentucky
first African-American man elected to the
Kentucky House of Representatives :
Charles W. Anderson (1936)
first African-American woman elected to the
Kentucky House of Representatives :
Amelia Tucker (1961)
first African-American (and first woman) elected to the
Kentucky Senate :
Georgia Davis Powers (1968)
first African-American man elected to the
Kentucky Senate :
Gerald Neal (1988)
Louisiana
first African-American man elected to the
Louisiana House of Representatives since Reconstruction:
Ernest Nathan Morial (1969)
[8]
first African-American woman elected to the
Louisiana House of Representatives :
Dorothy Mae Taylor (1971)
first African-American man elected to the
Louisiana Senate since Reconstruction:
Sidney Barthelemy (1976)
[8]
first African-American woman elected to the
Louisiana Senate :
Diana Bajoie (1991)
Maine
first African-American man elected to the
Maine House of Representatives :
Gerald Talbot (1972)
first African-American man elected to the
Maine Senate :
John Jenkins (1996)
first African-American woman elected to the Maine House of Representatives:
Rachel Talbot Ross (2016)
first African-American woman elected to the Maine Senate:
Jill Duson (2022)
Maryland
first African-American man elected to the
Maryland Assembly :
Mathias de Sousa (1641)
first African-American man elected to the
Maryland Senate :
Harry A. Cole (1954)
first African-American woman elected to the
Maryland House of Delegates :
Irma George Dixon (1958)
first African-American woman elected to the
Maryland Senate :
Verda F. Welcome (1958)
Massachusetts
first African-American men elected to the
Massachusetts House of Representatives :
Edward G. Walker and
Charles Lewis Mitchell (1866)
first African-American woman elected to the
Massachusetts House of Representatives :
Doris Bunte (1973)
first African-American man elected to the
Massachusetts Senate :
Bill Owens (1975)
first African-American woman elected to the
Massachusetts Senate :
Dianne Wilkerson (1993)
Michigan
first African-American man elected to
Michigan House of Representatives :
William Webb Ferguson (1893)
first African-American man elected to
Michigan Senate :
Charles A. Roxborough (1930)
first African-American woman elected to the
Michigan House of Representatives :
Charline White (1950)
first African-American woman elected to
Michigan Senate :
Cora Brown (1952)
Minnesota
first African-American man elected to the
Minnesota House of Representatives :
John Francis Wheaton (1898)
first African-American man elected to the
Minnesota Senate :
B. Robert Lewis (1972)
first African-American woman elected to the
Minnesota House of Representatives :
Neva Walker (2001)
first African-American women elected to the
Minnesota Senate :
Erin Maye Quade ,
Zaynab Mohamed , and
Clare Oumou Verbeten (2022)
Mississippi
first African-American man elected to the
Mississippi House of Representatives :
John R. Lynch (1869)
first African-American Speaker of the
Mississippi House of Representatives :
John R. Lynch (1873)
first African-American man elected to the
Mississippi House of Representatives since Reconstruction:
Robert G. Clark Jr. (1967)
first African-American man elected to the
Mississippi State Senate since Reconstruction:
Arthur Tate (1979)
first African-American woman elected to the
Mississippi House of Representatives :
Alyce Clarke (1985)
first African-American woman elected to the
Mississippi State Senate :
Alice Harden (1988)
Missouri
first African-American man elected to the
Missouri House of Representatives :
Walthall M. Moore (1921)
first African-American woman elected to the
Missouri House of Representatives :
DeVerne Lee Calloway (1962)
first African-American man elected to the
Missouri Senate :
Theodore McNeal (1960)
first African-American woman elected to the
Missouri Senate :
Gwen B. Giles (1977)
Montana
first African-American woman elected to the
Montana Legislature :
Geraldine W. Travis (1974)
[9]
Nebraska
first African-American man elected to the former
Nebraska House of Representatives :
Matthew Ricketts (1893)
first African-American man elected to the unicameral
Nebraska Legislature :
John Adams Jr. (1937)
first African-American woman appointed to the
Nebraska Legislature :
JoAnn Maxey (1977)
first African-American women elected to the
Nebraska Legislature :
Tanya Cook and
Brenda Council (2009)
Nevada
first African-American man elected to the
Nevada Assembly :
Woodrow Wilson (1966)
first African-American man elected to the
Nevada Senate :
Joe Neal (1972)
first African-American woman elected to the
Nevada Senate :
Bernice Mathews (1994)
first African-American woman elected to the
Nevada Assembly :
Dina Neal (2011)
New Hampshire
first African American elected to the
New Hampshire House of Representatives :
Henry B. Richardson (1974)
first African American elected to the
New Hampshire Senate :
Melanie Levesque (2018)
New Jersey
first African-American man elected to the
New Jersey General Assembly :
Walter G. Alexander I (1920)
first African-American woman elected to the
New Jersey General Assembly :
Madaline A. Williams (1957)
[10]
first African-American woman elected to the
New Jersey Senate :
Wynona Lipman (1971)
[11]
first African-American man to serve as Speaker of the General Assembly:
Walter G. Alexander I (1921)
first African-American man elected as Speaker of the General Assembly:
S. Howard Woodson (1974)
[12]
New Mexico
first African-American man elected to the
New Mexico House of Representatives :
Lenton Malry (1969)
first African-American woman elected to the
New Mexico House of Representatives :
Sheryl Williams Stapleton (1995)
first African-American man elected to the
New Mexico Senate :
Harold Pope Jr. (2020)
New York
first African-American man elected to the
New York State Assembly :
Edward A. Johnson (1917)
first African-American man elected to the
New York State Senate :
Julius A. Archibald (1953)
first African-American woman elected to the
New York State Assembly :
Bessie A. Buchanan (1955)
first African-American woman elected to the
New York State Senate :
Constance Baker Motley (1964)
first African-American man elected
Speaker of the New York State Assembly :
Carl Heastie
[13] (2015)
North Carolina
first African-American man elected to the
North Carolina House of Representatives :
Hanson T. Hughes (1866)
first African-American men elected to the
North Carolina Senate :
John R. Bryant (1866)
first African-American woman to serve in the
North Carolina House of Representatives :
Annie Brown Kennedy (appointed, 1979; elected, 1982)
first African-American woman to serve in the
North Carolina Senate :
Jeanne Hopkins Lucas (1993, appointed and re-elected)
North Dakota
first African-American woman elected to the
North Dakota House of Representatives :
Hamida Dakane (2022)
Ohio
first African-American man elected to the
Ohio House of Representatives :
George Washington Williams (1880)
first African-American man elected to the
Ohio Senate :
John Patterson Green (1892)
first African-American woman elected to the
Ohio House of Representatives :
Helen Rankin (1978)
first African-American woman elected to the
Ohio Senate :
Rhine McLin (1994)
Oklahoma
first African-American man elected to the
Oklahoma House of Representatives :
A. C. Hamlin (1908)
first African-American man elected to the
Oklahoma Senate :
E. Melvin Porter (1965)
first African-American woman elected to the
Oklahoma House of Representatives :
Hannah Atkins (1968)
first African-American woman elected to the
Oklahoma Senate :
Maxine Horner (1987)
first African-American Speaker of the
Oklahoma House of Representatives :
T. W. Shannon (2013)
Oregon
first African-American man elected to the
Oregon House of Representatives :
William McCoy (1972)
first African-American man appointed to the Oregon Senate:
William McCoy (circa 1975, appointed and re-elected)
first African-American woman elected to the
Oregon House of Representatives :
Margaret Carter (1985)
first African-American woman elected to the
Oregon Senate :
Avel Gordly (1996)
Pennsylvania
first African-American man elected to the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives :
Harry W. Bass (1911)
first African-American woman elected to the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives :
Crystal Bird Fauset (1938)
first African-American man elected to the
Pennsylvania State Senate :
Herbert Arlene (1967)
first African-American woman elected to the
Pennsylvania State Senate :
Roxanne Jones (1985)
first African-American
speaker of the Pennsylvania House :
K. Leroy Irvis (1977)
first African-American woman
speaker of the Pennsylvania House :
Joanna McClinton (2023)
Rhode Island
first African American elected to the
Rhode Island House of Representatives :
Mahlon Van Horne (1885)
first African-American man elected to the
Rhode Island Senate :
Charles D. Walton (1983)
first African-American woman elected to the
Rhode Island House of Representatives :
Maria Lopes (1989)
South Carolina
first African-American men elected to the
South Carolina House of Representatives since Reconstruction:
Herbert Fielding ,
James Felder , and
I. S. Levy Johnson (1970)
first African-American woman elected to the
South Carolina House of Representatives :
Juanita Goggins (1975)
first African-American man elected to the
South Carolina Senate since Reconstruction:
Isaiah DeQuincey Newman (1983)
first African-American woman elected to the
South Carolina Senate :
Maggie Wallace Glover (1992)
South Dakota
first African-American man elected to the
South Dakota House of Representatives :
Tony Randolph (2018)
Tennessee
first African-American man elected to the
Tennessee House of Representatives :
Sampson W. Keeble (1873)
first African-American man elected to the
Tennessee House of Representatives since
Reconstruction :
Archie Walter Willis Jr. (1964)
first African-American woman elected to the
Tennessee House of Representatives :
Dorothy Lavinia Brown (1966)
first African-American men elected to the
Tennessee Senate :
Avon Williams and
J. O. Patterson Jr. (1969)
first African-American woman elected to the
Tennessee Senate :
Thelma Harper (1991)
Texas
first African-American men elected to the
Texas Senate :
George T. Ruby and
Matthew Gaines (1869)
first African-American men elected to the
Texas House of Representatives : 14 men (1869)
first African-American woman elected to the
Texas Senate :
Barbara Jordan (1966)
first African-American men elected to the
Texas House of Representatives since
Reconstruction :
Mickey Leland and
Craig Washington (1972)
first African-American women elected to the
Texas House of Representatives :
Senfronia Thompson and
Eddie Bernice Johnson (1973)
Utah
first African-American man elected to the
Utah House of Representatives :
Robert Harris (1976)
first African-American man elected to the
Utah Senate :
Terry Lee Williams (1983)
first African-American woman elected to the
Utah House of Representatives :
Sandra Hollins (2015)
Vermont
first African-American man elected to
Vermont House of Representatives :
Alexander Twilight (1836)
first African-American woman elected to
Vermont House of Representatives :
Louvenia Bright (1988)
[14]
[15]
first African-American man elected to the
Vermont Senate :
Julius D. Canns (1992)
Virginia
first 24 African-American men elected to the
Virginia House of Delegates :
William H. Brisby ,
Henry Cox ,
Isaac Edmundson ,
Ballard T. Edwards ,
George Fayerman ,
Ross Hamilton ,
Charles E. Hodges ,
John Q. Hodges ,
Benjamin F. Jones ,
Peter K. Jones ,
Robert G. W. Jones , James F. Lipscomb,
J. B. Miller Jr. ,
Peter G. Morgan ,
F. S. Norton ,
Robert Norton ,
Alexander Owen ,
Caesar Perkins ,
Fountain M. Perkins ,
William H. Ragsdale ,
George Lewis Seaton ,
William N. Stevens ,
John Watson , and
Ellis Wilson (1869)
[16]
[17]
first African-American men elected to the
Virginia Senate :
James W. D. Bland ,
Isaiah L. Lyons ,
William P. Moseley ,
Frank Moss ,
John Robinson , and
George Teamoh (1869)
[18]
[19]
first African-American man elected to the
Virginia House of Delegates since
Reconstruction :
William Ferguson Reid (1968)
first African-American man elected to the
Virginia Senate since
Reconstruction :
Douglas Wilder (1970)
first African-American woman elected to the
Virginia Senate :
Yvonne B. Miller (1988)
[20]
first African-American woman elected to the
Virginia House of Delegates :
Yvonne B. Miller (1984)
Washington
first African-American man elected to the
Washington State Legislature :
William Owen Bush (1889)
first African-American man elected to the
Washington State Senate :
John Henry Ryan (1933)
[21]
first African-American woman appointed to the
Washington State Legislature :
Marjorie Pitter King (1965)
[22]
first African-American woman elected to the
Washington Legislature :
Peggy Maxie (1971)
first African-American woman appointed to the
Washington State Senate :
Rosa Franklin (1993)
Wisconsin
first African-American man elected to the
Wisconsin State Assembly :
Lucian H. Palmer (1906)
first African-American woman elected to the
Wisconsin State Assembly :
Marcia P. Coggs (1977)
first African-American man elected to the
Wisconsin Senate :
Monroe Swan (1973)
first African-American woman elected to the
Wisconsin Senate :
Gwen Moore (1993)
West Virginia
first African-American man elected to the
West Virginia House of Delegates :
Christopher Payne (1886)
first African-American woman to serve in the
West Virginia House of Delegates :
Minnie Buckingham Harper (appointed) (1928)
first African-American woman elected to the
West Virginia House of Delegates :
Elizabeth Simpson Drewry (1950)
first African-American woman elected to the
West Virginia Senate :
Marie Redd (1998)
first African-American man to serve in the
West Virginia Senate :
Owens Brown (appointed) (2021)
Wyoming
first African-American man elected to the
Wyoming Legislature :
William Jefferson Hardin (1879)
first African-American woman elected to the
Wyoming Legislature :
Harriet Elizabeth Byrd (1988)
First speakers and caucus leaders
Alabama
Arizona
California
Colorado
Georgia
Illinois
Louisiana
Maryland
Michigan
Mississippi
New Jersey
New York
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Tennessee
Virginia
See also
References
^
"Exploring Maryland's Roots: Library: Mathias de Sousa" . mdroots.thinkport.org . Retrieved 2020-10-12 .
^ Parry, Janine A.; Miller, William H. (2006).
" "The Great Negro State of the Country?": Black Legislators in Arkansas: 1973-2000" . Journal of Black Studies . 36 (6): 836.
ISSN
0021-9347 .
^ Gregg, John.
"Standing with Black trailblazer James S. Hinton" . Indianapolisrecorder.com . Retrieved 25 October 2017 .
^
Indiana Black History Public Art Legacy Project
Archived 2013-03-16 at the
Wayback Machine
^ Belin, Laura (2022-11-17).
"Elections bring more diversity to Iowa Legislature" . Iowa Capital Dispatch . Retrieved 2023-11-27 .
^ As of 2022, no African-American woman has served in the Iowa Senate.
[5]
^
"Alfred Fairfax: First African American Kansas state legislator" . Kansas Historical Society. Retrieved 2019-02-22 .
^
a
b
"LLBC" . house.louisiana.gov . Retrieved 2020-11-14 .
^ Robison, Kenneth (2018-08-15).
"Geraldine Washington Travis (1931- )" . Retrieved 2020-01-10 .
^
Wildstein, David .
"Trailblazer: Assemblywoman Madaline Williams" , New Jersey Globe , January 18, 2021. Accessed November 30, 2023. "Madaline Williams (1894-1968) was the first Black woman to serve in the New Jersey Legislature. She was elected to the State Assembly in 1957 and re-elected in 1959."
^
"Wynona Lipman, 67, Veteran In the New Jersey State Senate" ,
The New York Times , May 12, 1999. Accessed November 30, 2023. "State Senator Wynona M. Lipman, who in 1971 became the first African-American woman to be elected to the New Jersey Senate, died Sunday at her home in Newark."
^
"Celebrating Black History In Trenton: Rev. Dr. Samuel Howard Woodson Jr." ,
The Trentonian , February 24, 2023. Accessed November 30, 2023. "Today we will be celebrating the life and accomplishments of Rev. Dr. S. Howard Woodson Jr. The former Shiloh Baptist church pastor was also the first African-American Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly."
^
"New York State Assembly - Carl E. Heastie" . assembly.state.ny.us . Retrieved 25 October 2017 .
^ No African-American woman has ever served in the
Vermont Senate . The first woman of color to serve in the Senate is
Kesha Ram , elected in 2020.
^
"Senator Kesha Ram Hinsdale" . legislature.vermont.gov . Retrieved 2023-11-30 .
^
"African American Legislators in Virginia (1867–1899)" . EncyclopediaVirginia.org . Retrieved 11 February 2022 .
^
"African American Legislators in Virginia" . MLKCommission.dls.Virginia.gov . Retrieved 11 February 2022 .
^
"African American Legislators in Virginia (1867–1899)" . EncyclopediaVirginia.org . Retrieved 11 February 2022 .
^
"African American Legislators in Virginia" . MLKCommission.dls.Virginia.gov . Retrieved 11 February 2022 .
^
"The First Black Woman Elected to Virginia's House & Senate was HBCU Educated and a member of Zeta!" . TheVABlackLifestyleMagazine.com . Retrieved 11 February 2022 .
^ Kershner, Kate (2011-06-13).
"Ryan, John Henry (1865-1943) and Ella (1866-?)" . HistoryLink .
^
"African Americans in the Washington State Legislature" . Washington State Library, Office of the Secretary of State .
^
"Cecil Partee. Memoir" (PDF) . Archived from
the original (PDF) on 2011-09-27.
African-American politics
Officeholders
Federal State and local
General
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