Government and Politics

Juneteenth 2022
A Celebration of Black Achievers (Click Here)

Chronology

1895 Mary (Stagecoach) Fields (1832 – 1914), a postal service worker, was the first to become a mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, Montana in 1895, at approximately the age of 60.

1930 Mary McLeod Bethune (1875 – 1955), an educator and civil rights activist, was the first to head a federal agency, Director of the Division of Negro Affairs, appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1930.

1938 Crystal Bird Fauset (1894 – 1965), teacher, lecturer, social activist, and politician, was the first elected to a state legislature (the Pennsylvania House of Representatives) in 1938.

1950 Edith Spurlock Sampson (1901 – 1979), a lawyer and judge, was the first delegate to the United Nations General Assembly in 1950.

1952 Charlotta Bass (1874 – 1969), a newspaper publisher- editor and civil rights activist, was the first to run as Vice-President of the United States, nominated by the Progressive Party in 1952.

1966 Constance (Baker) Motley (1921 – 2005), an attorney, judge, and civil rights activist, was the first to become a federal judge when she was appointed by President Johnson to the Southern District Court of New York in 1966.

1968 Barbara Mae Watson (1918 – 1983), a business woman, lawyer, and diplomat, was the first Assistant Secretary of State for Security and Consular Affairs, an appointment made by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968.

1972 Shirley Chisholm (1924 - 2005), a teacher, civil rights activist, and politician, was the first elected to the United States Congress in 1968 and the first to run for President of the United States, 1972.

1972 Barbara Jordan (1936 – 1996), a lawyer, civil rights activist and politician, was the first from the South to win a seat in the United States Congress, representing Texas in 1972 and the first to give a keynote address at the Democratic National Convention, 1976.

1973 Cardiss Collins (1931 – 2013), a secretary and politician, was the first to represent the Midwest, from the state of Illinois, in the United States Congress in 1973. She was also the first to chair the Congressional Black Caucus in 1979.

1977 Patricia Harris (1924 – 1985), a lawyer, social activist, and politician, was the first to serve in a President’s Cabinet (President Jimmy Carter) in 1977, as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and in 1979 as Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare.

1977 Eleanor Holmes Norton (b. 1937), a civil rights activist and politician, was the first to chair the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1977.

1977 Carolyn Robertson Payton (1925 – 2001), a teacher, psychologist, and woman’s rights activist, was the first to head the Peace Corps, 1977.

1987 Carrie Saxon Perry (b. 1931), a community activist and politician, was the first elected mayor of a large U.S. City, (Hartford, Connecticut) in 1987.

1990 Sharon Pratt Dixon (b. 1944), lawyer and politician, was the first to become mayor of Washington, D.C. in 1990.

1992 Jacquelyn H. Barrett (1950-), a law enforcement administrator, was the first to be a United States Sheriff, elected to the Fulton County sheriff’s position of Atlanta, Georgia in 1992.

1992 Carol Moseley Braun (b. 1947), a lawyer and politician, was the first elected to the United States Senate from Illinois in 1992.

1992 Corrine Brown (b. 1946), a college professor and politician, was the first elected to the United States House of Representative from Florida, in 1992.

1993 Pamela Fanning Carter (b. 1949), a lawyer and politician, was the first to serve as State's Attorney General in Indiana from 1993 to 1997.

2005 Condoleezza Rice (b. 1954), a political scientist and college professor, was the first appointed as Secretary of State, 2005.

2008 Karen Ruth Bass (b. 1953), a politician and community activists, was the first to serve as Speaker of the California State Assembly, 2008.

2009 Valerie Jarrett (b. 1956), a lawyer, business woman, and politician, was the first to serve as Senior Advisor to an American president (President Barrack Obama), 2009.

2009 Michelle Obama (b. 1964), a lawyer and writer, is the first to become the First Lady of the United States of America in 2009.

2009 Susan E. Rice (b. 1964), a politician and diplomat, was the first to be the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, and the youngest (2009). She was appointed by President Barrack Obamma.

2009 Desiree Rogers (b. 1959), a business executive, was the first to hold the position of White House Social Secretary (2009). Under President Barrack Obama.

2013 Robin Lynn Kelly (b. 1956), a politician, was the first elected to represent 2nd U.S. Congressional District of Illinois in 2009.

2013 Davita Vance Cooks (b. 1957), a business executive, was the first to serve as the United States Public Printer, appointed by President Obama in 2013

2014 Ivy R. Taylor (b. 1970), is the first female to serve as Mayor of the City of San Antonio, Texas. She was appointed in 2014.

2015 Loretta Elizabeth Lynch (b. May 21, 1959), is the first to serve as the Attorney General of the United States, an appointment made by President Obama to replace Attorney General Eric Holder.