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

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.

1868

First elected African-American lieutenant governor: Oscar Dunn, Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana

First 33 African-American legislators in Georgia: see Original 33

1870

May: 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)

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

1879

First African American elected to the Wyoming Legislature: William Jefferson Hardin

1880

First African-American elected to the Indiana general assembly: James Sidney Hinton[3][4]

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).[5][6]

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[7]

20th century

1917

First African American to enter the University of Oregon: Mabel Byrd[8]

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

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[9]

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[10]

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[11] Her expulsion from the institution later that year led to the university's President Oliver Carmichael's resignation.[12][13]

First African American to teach at college or university level in California: Betty Smith Williams.[14][15]

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[16]

1959

First African American to graduate from the University of Maryland: Elaine J. Coates[17]

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.

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

1969

First African-American elected mayor of a Mississippi city since Reconstruction: Charles Evers, in Fayette, Mississippi[18]

1970

First African-Americans elected to the Alaska Legislature: Willard L. Bowman and Joshua Wright

First African-American woman elected to the Florida Legislature: Gwen Cherry

1971

First African-American woman elected to the Washington Legislature: Peggy Maxie

1973

First African-American woman elected to the Massachusetts General Court: Doris Bunte

First African-American woman elected to the Connecticut General Assembly: Margaret Morton

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[19]

First African-American elected mayor in New Mexico: Albert Johnson[20]

First African-American mayor in New Mexico: Albert Johnson[21]
1977

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[22]

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 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

1987
First African-American justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court: Robert D. Glass
1988

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

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

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[23]

First African-American elected to office of Attorney General Georgia: Thurbert E. Baker

21st century

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 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

2006

First African-American elected governor of Massachusetts: Deval Patrick

First African-American lieutenant governor of New York: David Paterson

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 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[24] (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[25]

First African-American female mayor of San Antonio: Ivy Taylor[26][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 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

First African-American mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota: Melvin Carter

2018

First female African-American major-party candidate for governor: Stacey Abrams, Georgia

First African-American elected lieutenant governor of Illinois: Juliana Stratton

2019

First African-American Attorney General of New York: Letitia James[32]

First African-American and First woman elected Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates: Adrienne A. Jones

First African-American elected Lieutenant Governor of Michigan: Garlin Gilchrist[33]

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]

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]

References

Juguo, Zhang. W. E. B. Du Bois: The Quest for the Abolition of the Color Line, Routledge, 2001 - ISBN 0-415-93087-1
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
Gregg, John (23 February 2012). "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
Vogel, Nathaniel (April 2002). "The Mismeasure of Maria Baldwin". Peacework Magazine. Archived from the original on October 23, 2007. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
Dorgan, Lauren R. (May 22, 2002). "Committee Renames Local Agassiz School". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
Wheaton, John Frances "Frank, J. Frank", Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, Accessed October 5, 2018.
"Untold Stories: Black History". University of Oregon Special Collections and University Archives Blog. February 4, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
"IWF Celebrates Black History in Iowa: Pauline Brown Humphrey". The Iowa Women's Foundation. February 25, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
"University to Graduate First Negro Student". Hope Star. Hope, Arkansas. May 19, 1952. p. 3. Retrieved December 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
"Civil rights pioneer Vivian Jones dies". USA Today. October 13, 2005. Retrieved November 23, 2007.
"Expelled in 1956, Autherine Lucy Foster Receives Honorary Doctorate from University of Alabama". 6 May 2019.
"Education: Goodbye to 'Bama". Time. November 19, 1956. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
Robison, Daniel. "Uniting Nurses of Color". Case Western Reserve University. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
Burnette, Margarette (2013-03-30). "Celebrating Excellence: Past, Present and Future". Minority Nurse. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
Svrluga, Susan (2019-05-24). "After a tumultuous year, U-Md. graduates celebrate new beginnings". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
Svrluga, Susan (2019-05-24). "After a tumultuous year, U-Md. graduates celebrate new beginnings". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
Neil R. McMillen, Dark Journey: Black Mississippians in the Age of Jim Crow, Chicago: University of Illinois, 1990, p.26
"Getting Word: African American Families of Monticello – Robert H. Cooley III". Charlottesville, VA: Monticello. Archived from the original on December 23, 2014.
"First black mayor". Albuquerque Journal. September 2, 1976. p. 53. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
"First black mayor". Albuquerque Journal. September 2, 1976. p. 53. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
"Loren Monroe, first black State Treasurer of Michigan, dead at 87". Michigan Chronicle. 4 June 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
"Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2011-04-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
"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.
"Political firsts: How history was made this midterm election". USA Today. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
Svitek, Patrick (June 14, 2015). "Taylor's San Antonio Win a Wake-Up Call for Democrats". Texas Tribune. Austin, Texas. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
Rauf, David Saleh (June 16, 2016). "Democratic party touts the leadership of large municipal mayors". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
"Carl E. Heastie". New York State Assembly. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
Phillips, Amber (4 November 2015). "Meet Jenean Hampton, the first black statewide officeholder in Kentucky. And, she's a Republican". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
Fund, John (November 3, 2015). "Kentucky's New GOP Lt. Gov. Is Black Tea-Party Activist". National Review. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
Sheila Oliver becomes New Jersey's first Black lieutenant governor, New York Amsterdam News (November 8, 2017).
Westerman, Ashley (January 1, 2019). "N.Y. Swears In New Attorney General After A Tumultuous Year For The Office". NPR. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
Eggert, David (November 7, 2018). "Democrat Gretchen Whitmer wins Michigan governor race, beating Bill Schuette". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
Crudup, Devin (6 April 2020). "Meet the Black Woman Appointed as California's First-Ever Surgeon General". AfroTech. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
Derek Major. November 5, 2020. "Here Are The Black Americans That Have Made History In The 2020 Election" Black Enterprise. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
"'The new south': Raphael Warnock becomes Georgia's first Black senator". The Guardian. 6 January 2021. Retrieved 2021-02-12.
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.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[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] Gregg, John (23 February 2012). "Standing with Black trailblazer James S. Hinton". Indianapolisrecorder.com. Retrieved 25 October 2017.

[4] Indiana Black History Public Art Legacy Project Archived 2013-03-16 at the Wayback Machine

[5] Vogel, Nathaniel (April 2002). "The Mismeasure of Maria Baldwin". Peacework Magazine. Archived from the original on October 23, 2007. Retrieved September 24, 2017.

[6] Dorgan, Lauren R. (May 22, 2002). "Committee Renames Local Agassiz School". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved September 24, 2017.

[7] Wheaton, John Frances "Frank, J. Frank", Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, Accessed October 5, 2018.

[8] "Untold Stories: Black History". University of Oregon Special Collections and University Archives Blog. February 4, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.

[9] "IWF Celebrates Black History in Iowa: Pauline Brown Humphrey". The Iowa Women's Foundation. February 25, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.

[graduation_1952-10] "University to Graduate First Negro Student". Hope Star. Hope, Arkansas. May 19, 1952. p. 3. Retrieved December 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.

[11] "Civil rights pioneer Vivian Jones dies". USA Today. October 13, 2005. Retrieved November 23, 2007.

[12] "Expelled in 1956, Autherine Lucy Foster Receives Honorary Doctorate from University of Alabama". 6 May 2019.

[timeeducationgoodbye-13] "Education: Goodbye to 'Bama". Time. November 19, 1956. Retrieved August 28, 2017.

[:03-14] Robison, Daniel. "Uniting Nurses of Color". Case Western Reserve University. Retrieved 2020-05-23.

[:1-15] Burnette, Margarette (2013-03-30). "Celebrating Excellence: Past, Present and Future". Minority Nurse. Retrieved 2020-05-23.

[16] Svrluga, Susan (2019-05-24). "After a tumultuous year, U-Md. graduates celebrate new beginnings". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-08-07.

[17] Svrluga, Susan (2019-05-24). "After a tumultuous year, U-Md. graduates celebrate new beginnings". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-08-07.

[18] Neil R. McMillen, Dark Journey: Black Mississippians in the Age of Jim Crow, Chicago: University of Illinois, 1990, p.26

[19] "Getting Word: African American Families of Monticello – Robert H. Cooley III". Charlottesville, VA: Monticello. Archived from the original on December 23, 2014.

[20] "First black mayor". Albuquerque Journal. September 2, 1976. p. 53. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.

[21] "First black mayor". Albuquerque Journal. September 2, 1976. p. 53. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.

[22] "Loren Monroe, first black State Treasurer of Michigan, dead at 87". Michigan Chronicle. 4 June 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2020.

[23] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2011-04-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[24] "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.

[25] "Political firsts: How history was made this midterm election". USA Today. Retrieved October 25, 2017.

[PSvitekTXTrib06142015-26] Svitek, Patrick (June 14, 2015). "Taylor's San Antonio Win a Wake-Up Call for Democrats". Texas Tribune. Austin, Texas. Retrieved June 24, 2015.

[dsr-27] Rauf, David Saleh (June 16, 2016). "Democratic party touts the leadership of large municipal mayors". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved June 17, 2016.

[28] "Carl E. Heastie". New York State Assembly. Retrieved October 25, 2017.

[29] Phillips, Amber (4 November 2015). "Meet Jenean Hampton, the first black statewide officeholder in Kentucky. And, she's a Republican". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 25 October 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] Westerman, Ashley (January 1, 2019). "N.Y. Swears In New Attorney General After A Tumultuous Year For The Office". NPR. Retrieved February 13, 2021.

[33] Eggert, David (November 7, 2018). "Democrat Gretchen Whitmer wins Michigan governor race, beating Bill Schuette". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. Retrieved May 22, 2020.

[34] Crudup, Devin (6 April 2020). "Meet the Black Woman Appointed as California's First-Ever Surgeon General". AfroTech. Retrieved 2020-05-15.

[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. 6 January 2021. Retrieved 2021-02-12.

[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.