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African Americans are ademographic minority in theUnited 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 tomajor national- and international-level firsts, African-Americans have achieved firsts on a statewide basis.

• 1832

First governor of African descent in what is now the US:Pío Pico, anAfro-Mexican, was the lastgovernor of Alta California before it was ceded to the US. Like allCalifornios, Pico automatically became a US citizen in 1848. He was elected to theLos Angeles Common Council in 1853, but he did not assume office.^{[citation needed]}

• 1836

First African American to graduate from any flagship state university and earn abachelor's degree (fromNewark College inDelaware):Isaiah DeGrasse^[3]

• 1859

First African American on the staff atHarvard University:Aaron Molyneaux Hewlett^[4]

• 1865

First African American to earn anDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree fromCase Western Reserve University School of Medicine,Cleveland,Ohio:Charles Burleigh Purvis^[5]

• 1868

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

First 33 African-American legislators inGeorgia: seeOriginal 33

First African American admitted to theUniversity of Michigan Law School:Gabriel Franklin Hargo^[6]

First African American to serve in theAlabama Senate:Benjamin F. Royal^[7]

First African-American faculty member of theHoward University College of Medicine:Alexander Thomas Augusta^[8]

• 1869

First African-American woman to earn a medical degree inNew York State:Susan McKinney Steward

• 1870

First African-Americansenator fromMississippi:Hiram R. Revels (also first in U.S.)

First African American to graduate from theUniversity of Michigan Law School:Gabriel Franklin Hargo^[9]

• 1871

First African-American acting governor:Oscar James Dunn ofLouisiana from May until August 9, 1871, when sitting Governor Warmoth was incapacitated and chose to recuperate in Mississippi. (see also: Douglas Wilder, 1990)

First two African Americans to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree fromHoward University College of Medicine inWashington D.C.: James L.N. Bowen and George W. Brooks^[10]

• 1872

Second African-American acting governor of Louisiana:P. B. S. Pinchback (Also second in U.S.) (non-elected; see also Douglas Wilder, 1990) (Also first elected senator but was denied seat)^[11][12]

First African American to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree from theUniversity of Michigan Medical School:William Henry Fitzbutler^[13]

• 1873

First African-American Speaker of theMississippi House of Representatives, and of any state legislature:John R. Lynch

First African American elected to theTennessee General Assembly:Sampson W. Keeble

First African-American professor of theUniversity of South Carolina (USC):Richard Theodore Greener^[14]

• 1875

First African-American elected member of theAmerican Philological Association (APA):Richard Theodore Greener^[15]

First African American to attend and graduate from theSchool of the Art Institute of Chicago in the early 1870s:Lottie Wilson Jackson^[16][17]

First African American to graduate from theUniversity of South Carolina (earned abachelor's degree in art and the law):Thomas McCants Stewart^[18]

First African American to graduate from theUniversity of Wisconsin (earned abachelor's degree): William Smith Noland^[19]

• 1876

First African American elected to theIllinois General Assembly:John W. E. Thomas

First African-American woman to be admitted to theUniversity of Michigan:Mary Henrietta Graham^[20]

First African American to enroll in theUniversity of Kansas:Lizzie Ann Smith^[21]

• 1877

First African American to graduate fromBoston University School of Law:Emanuel Molyneaux Hewlett^[22]

First African American to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree fromMeharry Medical College inNashville, Tennessee:James Monroe Jamison^[23]

First African American to graduate from theUniversity of Vermont:George Washington Henderson^[24]

• 1878

First African American elected mayor inNew York State (village president ofCleveland):Ned Sherman

• 1879

First African American elected to theWyoming Legislature:William Jefferson Hardin

First African American elected to theOhio General Assembly:George Washington Williams

• 1880

First African American elected to theIndiana General Assembly:James Sidney Hinton^[25][26]

First African American to graduate from theUniversity of Michigan:Mary Henrietta Graham^[27]

• 1881

First African American to head a hospital under civilian authority when appointed by PresidentChester Arthur as Surgeon-in-Charge at theFreedmen's Hospital:Charles Burleigh Purvis^[28][29]

First African American to enroll at theUniversity of California at Berkeley (no record of graduation): Alexander Jones^[30]

• 1882

First African American to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree from theUniversity of Pennsylvania School of Medicine:Nathan Francis Mossell^[31]

First African American to graduate from theUniversity of Minnesota (B.A. degree):Andrew F. Hilyer^[32]

• 1883

Founded the first school for black children in Augusta, Georgia and was principal for 50 years for the Haines Institute for Industrial and Normal Education:Lucy Craft Laney^[33]

First African American to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree fromWayne State University School of Medicine inDetroit, Michigan:Robert J. Boland^[34]

• 1884

First African American woman to practice medicine in Ohio:Consuelo Clark-Stewart^[35]

First African American to graduate from the New York State Normal School, which would become theUniversity at Albany, SUNY (graduated with a teaching certificate):Evelena Williams^[36]

• 1885

First African American elected to theRhode Island General Assembly:Mahlon Van Horne

First African-American woman to graduate from theUniversity of Michigan Medical School and the first faculty member ofSpelman College where she established its nurse training program:Sophia B. Jones^[37][38]

First African American to earn abachelor's degree from theUniversity of Kansas:Blanch Ketene Bruce^[39]

• 1886

First African American dentist to be licensed and practice in the state ofVirginia:Charles B. Jackson^[40]

• 1887

First documented African-American woman to graduate from an Indiana college or university when she received a bachelor's degree fromButler University:Gertrude Amelia Mahorney^[41]

First African American to receive thePh.D. degree fromBoston University:John W. E. Bowen Sr.^[42]

• 1888

First African-American woman to become alicensed doctor in the U.S. state ofMassachusetts:Juan Bennett Drummond

First African American to earn a law degree at theUniversity of Pennsylvania Law School:Aaron Albert Mossell^[43]

First African-American medical doctor ofDurham, North Carolina:Aaron McDuffie Moore^[44]

First African-American woman and first woman to practice medicine in the state ofMississippi:Verina Morton Jones^[45]

• 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).^[46][47]

First African American to pass theCalifornia Board of Medical Examination:Monroe Alpheus Majors^[48]

• 1890

First African American chosen to deliver aHarvard University senior class oration:Clement G. Morgan^[49]

First African-American woman to graduate from theUniversity of Michigan School of Dentistry and the first African-American woman to open a dental practice inCincinnati, Ohio:Ida Gray^[50]

• 1891

First woman to be licensed as a physician in the U.S. state ofAlabama:Halle Tanner Dillon Johnson^[51]

First African American to play on theNebraska Cornhuskers football team, among the first Black college football players nationwide:George Flippin^[52]

First African-American woman physician to practice inNassau County, New York:Verina Morton Jones^[53]

• 1892

First African American to receive a graduate degree at theUniversity of Cincinnati inCincinnati,Ohio:Charles Henry Turner^[54]

First woman to work as a resident in theHoward Universitygynecology clinic:Julia R. Hall^[55]

First African American to graduate fromRutgers University:James Dickson Carr^[56]

First African American to graduate fromOhio State University:Sherman Hamlin Guss^[57]

• 1893

First African-American member elected to theMichigan House of Representatives:William Webb Ferguson

First African-American woman to become a licensedsurgeon andphysician inTennessee:Georgia E. L. Patton Washington

First African American and the first woman to pass the Virginia Medical Examining Board's examination:Sarah Garland Boyd Jones^[58][59]

• 1894

First African-American woman licensed to practice law in Illinois, and the third in the United States:Ida Platt

First African American to graduate fromIowa State Agricultural College (now Iowa State University) inAmes:George Washington Carver^[60]

• 1895

First president and co-founder of theNational Medical Association:Robert F. Boyd^[61]

First African American to graduate and earn a degree (mathematics) fromIndiana University:Marcellus Neal^[62]

First African American to graduate from theUniversity of Nebraska:George Flippin^[63]

• 1896

First African-American woman appointed to the school board of a major city, servingWashington D.C. until 1906:Mary Church Terrell^[64]

First African American to serve on the faculty ofIowa State Agricultural College (now Iowa State University) inAmes:George Washington Carver^[65]

• 1897

First African-American woman licensed to practice medicine in the U.S. state ofGeorgia:Eliza Ann Grier^[66]

First African-American woman licensed to practice medicine in South Carolina:Matilda Evans^[67]

First African-American woman physician inIndianapolis:Beulah Wright Porter^[68]

First African American to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree from theUniversity of Illinois College of Medicine:Rivers Frederick^[69]

First African-American woman to open a dental practice inChicago, Illinois:Ida Gray^[70]

• 1898

First African-American member elected to theMinnesota House of Representatives:John Francis Wheaton^[71]

First woman to teach law in a chartered law school when she joined the faculty of her alma mater,Central Tennessee College of Law:Lutie Lytle^[72]

First African-American woman to graduate from medical school and to practice medicine inLouisiana:Emma Wakefield-Paillet^[73]

First African-American woman to register as a licensed physician inKentucky:Artishia Gilbert^[74]

First African American to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree fromYale School of Medicine:William F. Penn^[75]

First African American on record to graduate from theUniversity of Iowa:Samuel Joe Brown^[76]

• 1899

First African American to graduate from theUniversity of Idaho:Jennie Eva Hughes^[77]

• 1900

First African American columnist to regularly write for a white newspaper inIndiana:Lillian Thomas Fox^[78]

First African American to graduate from theUniversity of Illinois: William Walter Smith^[79]

• 1901

First African American to earn hisDoctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree fromJefferson Medical College,Philadelphia,Pennsylvania:Algernon B. Jackson^[80]

First African American to attend and earn a degree from theUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst (then Massachusetts Agricultural College):George Ruffin Bridgeforth^[81]

• 1905

First African-American to earn a doctorate degree in educational psychology (University of Chicago,Chicago,Illinois):Charles Henry Thompson^[82]

First African American to graduate from theUniversity of California at Berkeley: Charles E. Carpenter^[83]

First African-American woman to graduate fromOhio State University (bachelor's degree inmodern languages):Jessie Frances Stephens^[84]

First African American to graduate fromPennsylvania State University:Calvin H. Waller^[85]

First African-American woman to graduate fromCornell University:Jessie R. Fauset^[86]

• 1906

First African-American elected to theWisconsin Legislature:Lucian H. Palmer^[87][88]

First African American to earn aDoctor in Medicine (MD) fromJefferson Medical College,Philadelphia,Pennsylvania:Henry McKee Minton^[89]

• 1907

First African American to earn aDoctor in Medicine (MD) degree from theUniversity of IowaCollege of Medicine:Edward Albert Carter^[90]

First African American to earn aDoctor in Medicine (MD) degree from theUniversity of Colorado School of Medicine:Samuel L. Raines^[91]

• 1908

First African American to receive his license by passing the Kentucky state medical licensing board exam:William H. Perry Sr.^[92]

• 1909

First African-American woman to graduate from theUniversity of California at Berkeley:Vivian Rogers^[93]

• 1911

First African American to graduate fromValparaiso College Medical Department,Valparaiso, Indiana:Carl Glennis Roberts^[94]

First African American to graduate with abachelor's degree from theUniversity at Albany, SUNY:Georgine Lewis^[95]

• 1914

Founded the first hospital in the city ofEvanston, Illinois that would serve African-American patients:Isabella Garnett and her husband Dr. Arthur Butler^[96]

First African-American woman to graduate from theUniversity of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy,Pennsylvania:Ella P. Stewart^[97]

First African American to graduate from theUniversity of Rhode Island:Harvey Robert Turner^[98]

• 1915

First African American and first woman to graduate from theUniversity of Hawaiʻi (master’s degree inchemistry):Alice Ball^[99]

Possibly the first African American to graduate fromSuffolk Law School:Thomas Vreeland Jones (Father ofLois Mailou Jones)^[100]

First African American to graduate fromMacalester College before going to medical school and pursuing a career in medical science:Catharine Deaver Lealtad^[101][102]

First African American to earn a degree fromCornell University Medical College,New York City:Roscoe Conkling Giles^[103]

• 1916

First African-American woman to practicedentistry inCambridge, Massachusetts:Edna C. Robinson Brown^[104]

First African-American woman to graduate from the School of Pharmacy atUniversity of Pittsburgh, and the first African-American woman licensed to practice pharmacology in the state of Pennsylvania:Ella P. Stewart^[105]

First African Americans to graduate fromOhio State University College of Medicine:Clarence Alphonso Lindsay,Rudolph Finley andCharles Robert Lewis^[106]

• 1917

First African American to enter theUniversity of Oregon:Mabel Byrd^[107]

First African American to give a recital inSymphony Hall (Boston):Roland Hayes^[108]

• 1918

First African-American elected to political office in California:Frederick Madison Roberts,California State Assembly^[109]

First African-American student atHamline University inMinnesota:Anna Arnold Hedgeman

First African-American woman to run for legislative office in the state ofWashington:Alice S. Presto^[110]

First African American to graduate from theUniversity of Colorado was most likely:Lucille Buchanan Jones^[111]

First African American to graduate from the Connecticut Agricultural College (now theUniversity of Connecticut): Alan Thacker Busby^[112]

• 1919

First African-American woman to be appointed apolice officer at theLos Angeles Police Department (LAPD):Georgia Ann Robinson^[113]

• 1920

First African-American elected to the Missouri legislature:Walthall Moore^[114][115]

First African-Americanlibrarian hired by theNew York Public Library (NYPL):Catherine Allen Latimer

First African-American woman to graduate from theTufts University School of Dental Medicine, and the only woman in her graduating class:Jessie G. Garnett^[116]

• 1921

First African-American faculty member ofAmherst College,Amherst, Massachusetts (chemistry):Robert Percy Barnes^[117][118]

• 1922

First African American to graduate fromHamline University inMinnesota:Anna Arnold Hedgeman

First African-American woman to work for theLouisville Metro Police Department:Bertha Whedbee^[119]

First African American to graduate from theUniversity of Montana:James W. Dorsey^[120]

First African-American woman admitted to and graduate from the Library School of theNew York Public Library (the school merged in 1926 with the New York State Library School to becomeColumbia University School of Library Service):Nella Larsen^[121][122]

• 1924

First African-American elected to theIllinois Senate:Adelbert Roberts

First African American to graduate from theUniversity of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine:James Lowell Hall, Sr.^[123]

First African-American woman to graduate fromFordham University School of Law (New York City), where she graduatedcum laude:Ruth Whitehead Whaley^[124]

• 1926

FirstAfrican-American woman to graduate fromBellevue Hospital Medical College, now NYU Grossman School of Medicine:May Edward Chinn

First African American to graduate with aMaster of Arts (MA) degree from theUniversity of Oregon:William Sherman Savage^[125]

First African American to graduate from theUniversity of New Hampshire:Elizabeth Virgil^[126]

First African American president ofHoward University,Washington D.C.:Mordecai Wyatt Johnson^[127]

• 1927

First African-American woman to receive a law degree from theUniversity of Pennsylvania Law School:Sadie T. M. Alexander

FirstAfrican-American graduate ofWestern Michigan Teachers College:Merze Tate^[128]

First African American to earn a degree from theUniversity of Maine at Orono:Ada Viola Peters Smith^[129]

• 1928

First African-American woman legislator in the United States when she was appointed to theWest Virginia House of Delegates:Minnie Buckingham Harper

• 1929

First African American dean of theHoward University College of Medicine (Washington D.C.):Numa P. G. Adams^[130]

• 1930

First African Americans elected asjudges in the state ofNew York:James S. Watson and Charles E. Toney^[131]

First African-American woman to graduate from theUniversity of Cincinnati Law School:Helen Elsie Austin

First woman president ofTillotson College (now Huston–Tillotson University), aHBCU in Austin, Texas and the first woman to head an accredited college in Texas:Mary Elizabeth Branch^[132][133]

First African American to graduate from theUniversity of Nevada (Bachelor of Science degree inelectrical engineering):Theodore Harry Miller^[134]

• 1931

First African-American woman licensed as apharmacist in the state ofIowa:Gwendolyn Wilson Fowler

First African-American physician admitted to membership in the Philadelphia Neurological Society:R. Wellesley Bailey^[135]

• 1932

First African-American woman to receive alaw degree fromFordham University inNew York City:Eunice Carter^[136]

First African American to earn degree fromCalifornia Institute of Technology (Bachelor of Science incivil engineering:Grant Delbert Venerable^[137]

First African American to earn aPh.D. from theUniversity of Minnesota (biochemistry):Vernon Alexander Wilkerson^[138]

• 1933

First African American to perform with the all-whiteChicago Symphony Orchestra:Margaret Bonds

First African American to earn aPh.D. inchemistry atHarvard University:Robert Percy Barnes^[139]

First African-American woman physician to practice in the state ofMaryland:N. Louise Young^[140]

First African-American woman admitted to theNorth Carolina bar, but she never practiced in the state:Ruth Whitehead Whaley^[141]

• 1934

First African American to earn aPh.D. in history fromOhio State University:W. Sherman Savage^[142]

• 1935

First African-American woman to work as a prosecutor in theNew York County (Manhattan)District Attorney’s Office:Eunice Carter^[143]

First African-American woman to earn a degree at theUniversity of Oxford (bachelor of literature degree (B.Litt.) in international relations):Merze Tate^[144]

First African American to earn aPh.D. inagronomy fromMassachusetts State College:Major Franklin Spaulding^[145]

First African American to earn aDoctor of Medicine from theUniversity of Cincinnati College of Medicine:Lucy Oxley^[146]

First African American on record to graduate from theUniversity of Arizona (aBachelor of Arts degree inhistory):Elgie Mike Batteau^[147]

• 1936

First African-American woman to earn aPh.D. atCornell University (Home Economics):Flemmie Pansy Kittrell^[148][149]

• 1937

First African American and first woman appointed as an assistant attorney general in Ohio:Helen Elsie Austin^[150]

First African-American woman to graduate fromGrinnell College, inGrinnell, Iowa:Edith Renfrow Smith^[151]

First African American hired as a policeman by theBaltimore Police Department:Violet Hill Whyte^[152]

First African American to join the faculty of theUniversity of Illinois College of Medicine:Roosevelt Brooks^[153]

First African-American artist to be given a one-person show at theMuseum of Modern Art inNew York City:William Edmondson^[154]

• 1938

First African-American woman to be elected to thePennsylvania General Assembly and to any state legislature:Crystal Bird Fauset

First African-American woman from the state ofFlorida to graduate from an accredited law school (Howard University Law School):Blanche Armwood

First African American to graduate from theUniversity of New Mexico:Oliver LaGrone^[155]

• 1939

First African-American woman to own a cosmetology school inIowa:Pauline Brown Humphrey^[156]

FirstAfrican American to serve on theLos Angeles Board of Education:Fay Allen^[157]

First African American to earn aPh.D. in a physical science (physics) from theUniversity of Cincinnati:Herman Branson^[158]

First African Americans to graduate from theUniversity of North Dakota:Fritz Pollard Jr. and Horace Johnson^[159]

• 1940

First African-American graduate of theUniversity of Minnesota Medical School,Minneapolis, Minnesota:Paul P. Boswell^[160]

First African American to earn aPh.D. degree fromColumbia University (psychology):Kenneth Clark^[161][162]

First African American to earn aMaster of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) degree from theUniversity of Iowa:Elizabeth Catlett^[163]

• 1941

First African-American woman to earn aPh.D. in government and international relations fromHarvard University (thenRadcliffe College):Merze Tate^[164]

First African American to earn aPh.D. inengineering (Bachelor of Science degree incivil engineering fromIowa State University):Walter T. Daniels^[165]

First woman to earn aPh.D. in science fromFordham University:Marie Taylor^[166]

First African-American dean ofMeharry Medical College,Nashville, Tennessee:Michael J. Bent^[167]

First African American to earn aDoctor of Medicine from theUniversity of Kansas School of Medicine:Edward Vernon Williams^[168][169]

First African American hired by theSan Francisco transit:Audley Cole^[170]

First African American (and at age 26 the youngest person) to conduct theNew York Philharmonic Orchestra:Dean Dixon^[171]

First African American to earn aPh.D. inmathematics from theUniversity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign:David Blackwell^[172]

• 1943

Baltimore Police Department African-American officers were allowed to wear police uniforms.^[173]

First African American to earn aPh.D. inchemistry from theUniversity of California, Berkeley:Lloyd Noel Ferguson^[174]

First African-Americanengineer licensed in the state ofLouisiana:Walter T. Daniels^[175]

First African-American woman to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree fromWayne State University School of Medicine inDetroit, Michigan:Helen Marjorie Peebles-Meyers^[176]

First African-American woman to earn aPh.D. degree fromColumbia University (psychology):Mamie Clark^[177][178]

First African-American woman streetcar operator inSan Francisco:Maya Angelou^[179]

• 1944

First African-American woman to graduate from theUniversity of Michigan Law School and pass the bar exam:Jane Cleo Marshall Lucas^[180]

First African-American librarian to work at theCarnegie Library of Pittsburgh:Vivian Davidson Hewitt^[181][182]

• 1945

First African-American woman to graduate fromColumbia Law School inNew York City:Elreta Alexander-Ralston^[183]

First African American to be elected to Congress fromNew York, as well as the first from any state in theNortheast:Adam Clayton Powell Jr.^[184]

First African American to perform inThe Town Hall (New York City):George Walker^[185]

• 1946

First African American to graduate from a nursing program in Colorado (University of Colorado School of Nursing):Zipporah Parks Hammond^[186]

First African-American woman to pass theMarylandbar exam and be admitted to practice law in Maryland:Jane Cleo Marshall Lucas^[187]

First African-American physician to work at theNewark City Hospital,Newark,New Jersey:Ernest Mae McCarroll^[188]

First African-American president ofFisk University,Nashville, Tennessee:Charles S. Johnson^[189]

First African American to earn an accounting degree fromCreighton University,Omaha, Nebraska: William Alfred Woods^[190]

• 1947

First African-American woman to graduate in medicine fromOhio State University:Clotilde Dent Bowen^[191]

First African-American woman licensed to practice law inNorth Carolina:Elreta Alexander-Ralston^[192]

First African American to earn aPh.D. inpharmacy fromOhio State University:Roy Clifford Darlington^[193]

• 1948

First African American elected to theDelaware House of Representatives:William J. Winchester

FirstAfrican-American femaleattorney admitted to theAlabama State Bar:Mahala Ashley Dickerson

First African Americans hired by theAtlanta Police Department: Henry Hooks, Claude Dixon,Ernest H. Lyons, Robert McKibbens, Willard Strickland, Willie T. Elkins, Johnnie P. Jones, and John Sanders^[194]

First African Americans admitted to theGeorgetown University Law Center: Winston A. Douglas, Elmer W. Henderson, William D. Martin and Lutrelle F. Parker^[195]

First African American admitted to theUniversity of Arkansas School of Law since Reconstruction and the first black student to be admitted for graduate or professional studies at any all-white university in the former Confederacy:Silas Herbert Hunt^[196]

First African American to complete a residency at theNew York Psychiatric Institute and the first African-American trainee to be certified in psychoanalysis atColumbia University's Columbia Psychoanalytic Center (New York):Margaret Morgan Lawrence^[197]

First African-American physician appointed to theWest Virginia State Board of Health:Peyton Randolph Higginbotham^[198]

First African-American woman to graduate fromCreighton University Law School:Elizabeth Pittman^[199]

• 1949

First African American admitted to theUniversity of Oklahoma College of Law:Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher

First African American to be appointed president of the Commission of theDetroit Department of Public Welfare:Rosa Slade Gragg^[200]

First African American appointed building inspector for the city ofDetroit, Michigan:Everod A. Coleman^[201]

First African American certified by theMissouri State Medical Society:William D. Mormon^[202]

First African-American physician appointed to the medical staff ofBoston City Hospital (Massachusetts):Charles D. Bonner^[203]

First African-American woman to join the medical staff atWashington University School of Medicine, and the first African-American woman to join the staff ofSt. Louis Children's Hospital, both located inSt. Louis, Missouri:Helen Elizabeth Nash^[204][205]

First African American appointed professor atHarvard University (clinical professor ofbacteriology andimmunology):William Augustus Hinton^[206]

• 1950

First African-American woman to be elected to theWest Virginia Legislature:Elizabeth Simpson Drewry

First African-American woman to be elected to theMichigan Legislature:Charline White

First African-American woman to graduate from theUniversity of Maryland School of Law and to practice law in the state ofMaryland:Juanita Jackson Mitchell^[207]

First African Americanurologist to practice in the state ofVirginia:Silas Odell Binns^[208]

First African American to serve on the board ofOmaha Public Schools,Omaha, Nebraska:Elizabeth Pittman^[209]

• 1951

Second African-American woman admitted to theIndiana bar:Mahala Ashley Dickerson

First African American undergraduate admitted to theUniversity of Maryland at College Park:Hiram Whittle^[210]

First African American to earn aPh.D. inphysiology from theUniversity of Illinois:Edward William Hawthorne^[211]

First African-American woman to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) fromHarvard Medical School,Boston, Massachusetts:Mildred Fay Jefferson^[212]

First African-American woman to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree fromLoma Linda University School of Medicine:Hughenna L. Gauntlett^[213]

First African-American woman to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) fromCornell University,Ithaca, New York:Marie Metoyer^[214]

• 1952

First African American to graduate from theUniversity of Arkansas for Medical Sciences:Edith Irby Jones^[215]

First African-American woman elected (rather than appointed) to theMichigan state senate:Cora Brown

First tenured African-American professor in the entireUniversity of California educational system and the first tenured African-American faculty member in a STEM field at a top-ranked, predominantly white university in the country:Joseph Thomas Gier^[216]

First African American appointed as a full-time member of theUniversity of Michigan faculty:Albert Wheeler^[217]

First African-American resident ofPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania's Episcopal Hospital:Calvin C. Sampson^[218]

First African American to earn a degree at any level fromLouisiana State University (LSU) (master's degree in education):Charles Edward Harrington^[219]

First African American to perform atConstitution Hall inWashington D.C.:Dorothy Maynor^[220]

• 1953

First African-American woman physician on the faculty of theUniversity of Louisville School of Medicine:Grace Marilynn James

First African-Americans to earn degrees at theUniversity of Virginia :Louise Stokes Hunter andWalter N. Ridley^[221]

First African American man to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) from theUniversity of Cincinnati College of Medicine:Emmett Campbell^[222]

First African American appointed to a staff of aLouisville, Kentucky hospital:Grace Marilynn James^[223]

First African American to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) from theUniversity of Texas Medical School at Galveston:Herman A. Barnett^[224]

• 1954

First African-American woman to hold a cabinet position inNew York City:Anna Arnold Hedgeman

First African-American woman to become a licensedarchitect in the state ofNew York:Norma Merrick Sklarek

First African American to receive a law degree fromLouisiana State University inBaton Rouge:Ernest Nathan Morial

First African American elected president of the Queens (New York) Medical Society:John Edward Lowery^[225]

First African American to earn a degree from theUniversity of Tennessee (graduated with amaster's degree inspecial education:Lillian Jenkins^[226]

• 1955

First African-American woman elected to theNew York State Legislature:Bessie A. Buchanan

First African-American elected to theMaryland State Senate:Harry A. Cole

First woman and the first African-American member of the Common Council inMilwaukee,Wisconsin:Vel Phillips

First African-American artist to have a solo exhibition at the Delgado Museum (now theNew Orleans Museum of Art):Clementine Hunter^[227]

First African-American woman to argue a case before theNorth Carolina Supreme Court:Elreta Alexander-Ralston^[228]

First African-American woman to earn aPh.D. inmathematics education (University of Pittsburgh,Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania):Angie Turner King^[229]

First African Americans to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree from theUniversity of Maryland School of Medicine:Roderick Edwards Charles andDonald Wallace Stewart^[230]

First African-American woman to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) from theMedical College of Virginia:Jean L. Harris^[231]

First three African-American undergraduates to enroll in theUniversity of Arkansas (and all three completed a nursing degree program):Maxine Sutton,Billy Rose Whitfield, andMarjorie Wilkins^[232]

First African American to sing at theMetropolitan Opera inNew York City:Robert McFerrin^[233]

• 1956

First African-American student to attend theUniversity of Alabama:Autherine Lucy^[234] Her expulsion from the institution later that year led to the university's PresidentOliver Carmichael's resignation.^[235][236]

First African American to teach at college or university level in California:Betty Smith Williams.^[237][238]

First African-American woman to obtain aMaster of Laws degree fromGeorgetown University Law Center:Mabel Dole Haden^[239]

First African-American woman on the engineering faculty atTennessee A & I University:Yvonne Clark^[240]

First African-American physician to set up a practice inorthopedic surgery inCalifornia:Julius Wanser Hill^[241]

First African American to earn aPh.D. from theEastman School of Music,Rochester, New York:George Walker^[242]

• 1957

First African-American woman elected to theNew Jersey Legislature:Madaline A. Williams

First African Americans to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree from theUniversity of Virginia School of Medicine:Edward B. Nash andEdward T. Wood^[243]

First African-Americanorthopedic surgeon to practice in the state ofMaryland:Elroy Young^[244]

First African American to earn aDoctor of Medicine degree from theUniversity of Washington School of Medicine:Lloyd C. Elam^[245]

First African Americans to graduate from theUniversity of Missouri:Walter Wesley Hamilton andHubert Arthur Kelley^[246]

• 1958

First African-American women elected to theMaryland General Assembly:Verda F. Welcome andIrma George Dixon

First African-American woman elected to theIllinois General Assembly:Floy Clements

First African American to graduate from theUniversity of Maryland:Elaine J. Coates^[247]

First African-American to graduate from theUniversity of Kentucky:Doris Y. Wilkinson

First African-American woman to earn aBachelor of Science inelectrical engineering at theUniversity of Michigan:Willie Hobbs Moore^[248]

First African-American woman to achieve amaster's degree from theUniversity of Minnesota inorganic chemistry:Jeannette Brown^[249]

First African-American full professor atUniversity of California, Berkeley:David Blackwell^[250]

First African-Americansurgeon in the state ofOklahoma to be certified by theAmerican Board of Surgery:Charles A. Tollett^[251]

First African-American woman to earn aDoctor of Medicine degree fromSaint Louis University School of Medicine:Maceola L. Cole^[252]

First African-American board-certified surgeon inGeorgia:Asa G. Yancey Sr.^[253]

First African-American woman to graduate from theUniversity of Missouri:Nora A. Petty^[254]

First African American to graduate from theUniversity of Texas at Austin (earned abachelor's degree insecondary education):Edna Oddessa Humphries Rhambo^[255]

• 1959

First African American to graduate from theUniversity of Maryland:Elaine J. Coates^[256]

FirstAfrican-American attorney in the state ofAlaska:Mahala Ashley Dickerson

FirstAfrican-American woman to serve as a judge in Pennsylvania:Juanita Kidd Stout

First African-American woman attorney to practice law in the state ofKentucky:Alberta Odell Jones

First African American to graduate from theUniversity of Virginia, where he earned aBachelor of Science inelectrical engineering:Robert Arthur Bland^[257]

First tenured African-American professor at theUniversity of Iowa:Philip G. Hubbard^[258]

First woman to be awarded anengineering degree byPrairie View A&M University and the first African-American woman to earn an engineering degree from any university in the state ofTexas:Nathelyne A. Kennedy^[259]

First African-American woman to become afellow of the American College of Surgeons:Dorothy Lavinia Brown^[260]

First African American to earn aDoctor of Medicine fromGeorge Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences:James Edwin Jackson^[261]

First African-American woman to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) from theUniversity of Oklahoma College of Medicine:Vivian Moon Lewis^[262]

First African American to earn abachelor's degree from theUniversity of West Virginia: Jack Hodges^[263]

• 1960

First African-American woman to earn adoctorate in any subject at theUniversity of Texas at Austin (mathematics education):Lillian K. Bradley^[264]

• 1961

First African-American students to attend theUniversity of Georgia:Charlayne Hunter andHamilton E. Holmes^[265]

First African-American woman to graduate from theUniversity of Pittsburgh's School of Engineering:Elayne Arrington^[266][267]

First African-American woman to earn aMaster of Science inelectrical engineering at theUniversity of Michigan:Willie Hobbs Moore^[268]

First African American licensed to practiceveterinary medicine in the state ofAlabama:Raleigh H. Allen^[269]

First African American to earn aDoctor of Medicine fromStanford University School of Medicine:Augustus A. White^[270]

First African American to earn abachelor's degree from theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill:David M. Dansby Jr.^[271]

• 1962

First African-Americanattorney general ofMassachusetts:Edward Brooke. Also first African American to hold Massachusetts statewide office, and first African-American attorney general of any state.

First African-American woman to become a licensedarchitect in the state ofCalifornia:Norma Merrick Sklarek

First woman and first African American to hold the position ofWest Virginia's mental health commissioner:Mildred Mitchell-Bateman^[272]

First African-American woman inVirginia to become aCertified Public Accountant (CPA):Ruth Coles Harris^[273]

First African American to teach in the department ofpsychology at theUniversity of Kansas, serving as an assistant professor:C. Kermit Phelps^[274]

First African American to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree fromWashington University School of Medicine,St. Louis, Missouri:James Leonard Sweatt, III^[275]

First African American and first woman in theUnited States hired to head a state department of mental health when she was appointed full-time director of theWest Virginia Department of Mental Health:Mildred Mitchell-Bateman^[276]

First African American to graduate from theUniversity of Florida (graduated from theUniversity of Florida Levin College of Law):W. George Allen^[277]

First African American to enroll in theUniversity of Mississippi (graduated in 1963):James Meredith^[278]

• 1963

First African American elected to theDelaware Senate:Herman Holloway

First African American student atClemson University:Harvey Gantt^[279]

First African Americans to graduate from theUniversity of Georgia:Hamilton Holmes andCharlayne Hunter-Gault^[280]

First African American elected to theLos Angeles City Council:Tom Bradley^[281]

First African-American reporter for thePlain Dealer inCleveland, Ohio:Robert G. McGruder^[282]

• 1964

First African-American woman elected to theIndiana Legislature:Daisy Riley Lloyd

First African-American woman elected to theNew York State Senate:Constance Baker Motley

First African-American woman to earn a contract with an American national symphony – with thePittsburgh Symphony Orchestra as principalkeyboardist:Patricia Prattis Jennings^[283]

First African American full time faculty member at a southern, traditionally white college when began teachingmathematics atBelmont Abbey College inBelmont, North Carolina,North Carolina:Wesley Lee Jordan^[284]

First African American to graduate fromFlorida State University's graduate program with amaster's degree (social work from the School of Social Work):Maxine Thurston^[285]

First African American to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) from theUniversity of Tennessee College of Medicine:Alvin H. Crawford^[286]

First African American to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) from theUniversity of Kentucky:Carl Weber Watson^[287]

• 1965

First African-American woman elected to public office in Colorado (Denver Public SchoolsBoard of Education:Rachel B. Noel

First African American to graduate from theUniversity of Alabama:Vivian Malone Jones

First African American to graduate fromClemson University, and third ranking student in the architecture program:Harvey Gantt^[288]

First African-Americanmathematics instructor at theMilwaukee Area Technical College:Gloria Ford Gilmer^[289]

First African American to graduate fromFlorida State University with abachelor's degree (mathematics):Maxwell Courtney^[290]

First African American to earn a degree fromTarkio College (Missouri):Walter C. Gough^[291]

First African American to graduate from theUniversity of Florida with an undergraduate degree:Stephan Mickle^[292]

First African American criminal court judge in a court of record in the state ofTennessee (Shelby County criminal court):Benjamin Hooks^[293]

• 1966

First African-American woman elected to theTexas Legislature:Barbara Jordan

First African American known lesbian state legislator: Barbara Jordan

First African-American woman elected to theGeorgia General Assembly:Grace Towns Hamilton

First African-American appointed toNew York State Board of Regents:Kenneth Bancroft Clark

First African-Americansenator 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 bypopular vote).

First African-American woman in theCalifornia Legislature:Yvonne Brathwaite Burke

First African-American woman elected to theTennessee General Assembly:Dorothy Lavinia Brown

First African-American woman elected to theArizona Legislature:Ethel Maynard

First African-American to serve on theMiami, FloridaCity Commission:M. Athalie Range

Baltimore Police Department (BPD) first allowed African-American officers to use squad cars. Previously, they were restricted to foot patrols^[294]

First African-American woman to earn a contract with an American national symphony – with thePittsburgh Symphony Orchestra as principalkeyboardist, playing piano, harpsichord, organ andcelesta:Patricia Prattis Jennings^[295]

First African-American woman on theBaylor University (Texas) faculty:Vivienne Malone-Mayes^[296]

First African-American woman to earn aPh.D. inmathematics from theUniversity of Texas at Austin:Vivienne Malone-Mayes^[297]

First African-American woman to teachmathematics at theUniversity of Wisconsin–Milwaukee:Gloria Ford Gilmer^[298]

• 1967

First African-American woman admitted to theMississippi Bar:Marian Wright Edelman

First African-American woman elected to theMontana Legislature:Geraldine W. Travis

First African-American woman elected to theBaltimore City Council:Victorine Q. Adams

First African American elected to theLouisiana State Legislature since Reconstruction:Ernest Nathan Morial

First African-American woman graduate of theLoyola University New Orleans College of Law:Joan Bernard Armstrong^[299]

First African-American woman to complete abachelor's degree atVanderbilt University,Nashville, Tennessee:Dorothy J. Phillips^[300]

First African-American woman to be head of a Catholic hospital (St. Clare's Hospital inBaraboo, Wisconsin):Mary Antona Ebo^[301]

First African American to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) fromEmory University School of Medicine (Georgia):Hamilton E. Holmes^[302]

First African American to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) from theDuke University School of Medicine (North Carolina):Delano Meriwether^[303]

First African-American woman to serve as associate dean of a major medical school (New York Medical College):Jane C. Wright^[304]

First African American to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) fromJohns Hopkins University School of Medicine (Maryland):Robert Lee Gamble^[305][306]

First African American to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) from theUniversity of Wisconsin:Walter James Tardy, Jr.^[307]

First African-American president of the Washington Orthopaedic Society:Charles H. Epps Jr.^[308]

• 1968

First African-American elected to theFlorida Legislature since Reconstruction:Joe Lang Kershaw

First African-American woman elected as a district court judge inNorth Carolina:Elreta Alexander-Ralston^[309]

First African-American woman to earn aDoctor of Medicine fromGeorge Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences:Joan R. Sealy^[310]

First African American to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree from theUniversity of California, Irvine, College of Medicine:John Richard Crear, Jr.^[311]

First two African-American women to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree fromCase Western Reserve University School of Medicine (Ohio):Loma K. Flowers andDoris A. Evans^[312]

First African American to be thePoet Laureate of Illinois:Gwendolyn Brooks^[313]

First African American to serve as music director and conductor of theNew Jersey Symphony (a major American orchestra):Henry Lewis^[314]

• 1969

First African-American elected mayor of aMississippi city since Reconstruction:Charles Evers, inFayette, Mississippi^[315]

First African-American woman to become a full-time faculty member at theUniversity of Kentucky when she joined the Department ofSociology:Doris Y. Wilkinson

First African American to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree from theUniversity of Miami School of Medicine (Florida): George Sanders^[316]

First African-American associate dean for students atYale University School of Medicine,New Haven, Connecticut:James P. Comer^[317]

First African-American associate dean for students atHoward University College of Medicine,Washington D.C.:Alvin Francis Poussaint^[318]

First African-American woman to head a department ofpsychiatry at an American medical school when she joined the faculty and headed the psychiatry department atMeharry Medical College (Tennessee):Jeanne Spurlock^[319]

First African-American physician tenured at theUniversity of Nebraska Medical School:Melvin Earl Jenkins^[320]

First African-American woman professor at theTulane University School of Medicine (Louisiana):Anna Epps^[321]

First African-American congressman elected in the state ofOhio:Louis Stokes^[322]

• 1970

First African-Americans elected to theAlaska Legislature:Willard L. Bowman andJoshua Wright

First African-American woman elected to theDelaware General Assembly:Henrietta R. Johnson

First African-American woman elected to theFlorida Legislature:Gwen Cherry

First African American elected as Juvenile Court judge inLouisiana:Ernest Nathan Morial

First African American to graduate with a medical degree fromVanderbilt University School of Medicine inNashville,Tennessee:Levi Watkins^[323]

First African American to become superintendent of a large school district when appointed to theOakland Unified School District inOakland, California:Marcus Foster^[324]

First African American appointed State Commissioner for Health for the state ofNew Jersey:James Rankin Cowan^[325]

First African American to earn both aDoctor of Medicine (MD) and adoctorate (Ph.D.) fromCase Western Reserve University (Ohio):David Satcher^[326]

The first two African Americans to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree from theUniversity of Florida College of Medicine:Ruben Earl Brigety andHenry Earl Coteman^[327]

First African American to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree fromLouisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans:Claude Jenkins Tellis^[328]

First two African Americans to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree from theUniversity of Alabama School of Medicine:Richard Charles Dale andSamuel William Sullivan Jr.^[329]

First African American appointed to any San Francisco City commission:H. Welton Flynn^[330]

• 1971

First African-American woman elected to theWashington Legislature:Peggy Maxie

First African-American woman to be elected to and serve in theLouisiana House of Representatives:Dorothy Mae Taylor

First African American to become chief resident of cardiac surgery atJohns Hopkins Hospital inBaltimore,Maryland:Levi Watkins^[331]

First female judge inMilwaukee County and the first African-American judge inWisconsin:Vel Phillips

First African American since Reconstruction and the first woman ever to head a state agency inFlorida when appointed as Secretary of the Department of Community Affairs:M. Athalie Range^[332]

First African-American woman to earn a degree fromUniversity of Pittsburgh School of Law:Martha Richards Conley^[333][334]

First African-American woman faculty member ofEmory University and founding director of the first African-American and African-Studies degree-granting program in the South:Delores P. Aldridge^[335]

First two African Americans to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree from theMedical College of Georgia: John Harper andFrank Rumph^[336]

First African-American woman to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree fromJefferson Medical College (Pennsylvania):Cora LeEthel Christian^[337]

First African American and first woman judge in the state ofNebraska:Elizabeth Pittman^[338]

• 1972

First African-American elected to theWisconsin Senate:Monroe Swan

First African-American woman elected to theColorado State House of Representatives:Arie Parks Taylor

First African Americans elected to theSelma City Council,Alabama sinceReconstruction: Lorenzo Harrison Sr.,Frederick D. Reese, Ernest Doyle, James Kimbrough and the Rev. William Kemp Sr.^[339]

First African-American woman associate professor atGeorgetown University Law Center:Anita Martin^[340]

First woman to earn amaster's degree inEngineering Management fromVanderbilt University,Nashville, Tennessee:Yvonne Clark^[341]

First African American to earn aPh.D. fromClemson University,Clemson, South Carolina:James Edward Bostic Jr.^[342]

First African-American woman to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree from theUniversity of Florida College of Medicine:Cassandra J. Ndiforchu^[343]

First African-American physician to serve as president of the Seattle Academy of Internal Medicine:Alvin J. Thompson^[344]

First African American news anchor in theNew York City area (WNBC-TV):Carl Stokes^[345]

First African American elected to Congress from the state ofGeorgia sinceReconstruction:Andrew Young^[346]

First African American to conduct theMetropolitan Opera orchestra ofNew York City:Henry Lewis^[347]

• 1973

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

First African-American woman elected to theConnecticut General Assembly:Margaret E. Morton

First African-American woman elected to theDallas City Council:Lucy Patterson^[348]

First African-American woman to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree fromWashington University School of Medicine,St. Louis, Missouri:Karen LaFrance Scruggs^[349]

First two African Americans to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree from theUniversity of Texas Southwestern Medical Center atDallas, Texas:Charles Douglas Foutz andJohnny Lee Henry^[350]

First African Americans to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree from theMichigan State University College of Human Medicine:Janice Marie Fox,Judith Ann Ingram,Donald Gregory Weathers, andRoger O'Niel Whitmire^[351]

First African-American chief surgeon for theNew York City Police Department:Clarence G. Robinson Jr.^[352]

• 1974

First African-American woman elected to theMichigan State Board of Education:Barbara Roberts Mason

First African-American man elected to theNew Hampshire House of Representatives:Henry Richardson

First African American elected to theLouisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal:Ernest Nathan Morial

First African-American woman and first woman elected judge inLouisiana:Joan Bernard Armstrong^[353]

One of the first African Americans elected to theAlabama Senate sinceReconstruction:U. W. Clemon^[354]

First African-American woman to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree from theUniversity of Alabama School of Medicine:Patience Hodges Claybon^[355]

First African-American woman to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree from theUniversity of Texas Southwestern Medical Center atDallas, Texas:Kathryn Haley Flangin^[356]

First African Americans to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree fromPennsylvania State University College of Medicine:Janice C. McIntosh,James F. Byers,Theodore R. Densley,Wade A. Johnson, andLewis E. Mitchell^[357]

First African American to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree from theUniversity of Utah School of Medicine:William Anthony Robinson^[358]

• 1975

First African-American woman elected to theSouth Carolina Legislature:Juanita Goggins

First African-American woman in the state ofCalifornia to receive a license to practicepsychology:Gail E. Wyatt^[359]

First African-American women to earn aDoctor of Medicine degree from theUniversity of Washington School of Medicine:Blanche Marie Chavers andRobin Eleanor Wragg^[360]

First two African-American women to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree from theMedical College of Georgia:Angelica Valencia Sims andElizabeth Hawkins Woods^[361]

First two African-American women to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree from theUniversity of Colorado School of Medicine:LaRae H. Washington and Deborah Green^[362]

First two African-American women to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree from theUniversity of California at Davis School of Medicine:Sandra Dian Battis andDiane Loren Pemberton^[363]

First four African-Americans to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree from theState University of New York at Stony Brook:Janice C. Lark,Mitchelene J. Morgan,Paul J. Fox andJohnson B. Murray^[364]

First African American on the board of directors of theMetropolitan Opera:Dorothy Maynor^[365]

• 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^[366]

First African-American mayor in New Mexico:Albert Johnson^[367]

First African-American woman to be electedmayor inMississippi:Unita Blackwell

First three African Americans to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree fromTexas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine:Stella Pinkney Jones,Johnnie Paris Frazier andCharles Edward Mathis, III^[368]

First African American to get a residency inneurosurgery at theUniversity of Minnesota:Alexa Canady^[369]

First African-American woman chancellor of theUniversity of Colorado at Boulder:Mary Frances Berry^[370]

• 1977

First African-American to serve on the California Supreme Court:Wiley W. Manuel

First African-American speaker of theSouth Carolina House of Representatives, and of any state legislature in the United States since Reconstruction:K. Leroy Irvis

First African-American woman elected to theWisconsin Legislature:Marcia P. Coggs

First African-American woman elected to theIllinois Senate:Earlean Collins

First African American elected mayor ofNew Orleans:Ernest Nathan Morial

First African-American woman to work as an investigative reporter inChicago:Renee Ferguson^[371][372]

First African-American woman judge inMassachusetts when appointed to be an associate justice of theBoston Municipal Court:Margaret Burnham^[373]

• 1978

First African-American appointed to the office ofMichigan State Treasurer:Loren E. Monroe^[374]

First African-American woman elected to theOhio Legislature:Helen Rankin

First African-American woman appointed as a judge inMaryland:Mabel Houze Hubbard

First African-American women to graduate with a medical degree fromVanderbilt University School of Medicine inNashville,Tennessee:Darlene Dailey andJanis Adelaide Jones^[375]

First African-American physician to serve as president of theWashington State Medical Association:Alvin J. Thompson^[376]

First two African-American women to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree from theUniversity of Massachusetts Medical School:Marcia Clair Bowling andVernette Jones Bee^[377]

• 1979

First African-American elected to a statewide office inIllinois:Roland Burris, office ofComptroller

First African-American elected to a statewide office inWisconsin:Vel Phillips, office ofSecretary of State

First African-American woman to earn aPh.D. in electrical engineering at theUniversity of California, Davis:Giovonnae Anderson^[378]

First African-American woman law professor atGeorgetown University Law Center to be awardedtenure:Patricia A. King^[379]

First African-American president of the D.C. Medical Society:Charles H. Epps Jr.^[380]

First two African-American women to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree from theUniversity of Utah School of Medicine:Denise L. Capel andMarjorie S. Coleman^[381]

First African American to serve as president of theAmerican Cancer Society:LaSalle D. Leffall Jr.^[382]

First African American to be thePoet Laureate of Maryland:Lucille Clifton^[383]

• 1980

First African-American speaker of theCalifornia State Assembly:Willie Lewis Brown Jr.

First African-American woman to be elected as a circuit court judge inMichigan:Lucile A. Watts

First two African Americans to receive aPh.D. inelectrical engineering fromCornell University:Gary Lynn Harris andMichael G. Spencer^[384]

First African American selected to be president of theMedical College of Pennsylvania:Maurice C. Clifford^[385]

First surgeon to implant the automatic implantable defibrillator in a human:Levi Watkins^[386]

• 1981

First African-American woman elected to theArkansas General Assembly:Irma Hunter Brown

First African-American elected to theUtah Senate:Terry Lee Williams

First African American to serve as superintendent for theChicago Public Schools district:Ruth B. Love^[387]

First African American appointed professor oforthopedic surgery at theUniversity of Cincinnati College of Medicine:Alvin H. Crawford^[388]

First African American appointed director of theMichigan Department of Public Health:Bailus Walker Jr.^[389]

First African-American woman to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree from theUniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (Maryland):Sabrina Ann Benjamin^[390]

First African Americans and first African-American women to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree from theEast Carolina University School of Medicine:Natalear R. Collins andBrenda Mills Klutz^[391]

Firstpoet laureate ofDetroit, Michigan:Dudley Randall^[392]

• 1982

First African-American woman fromIndiana elected to theU.S. House of Representatives:Katie Hall^[393]

First African American and first woman to complete aneurosurgery residency atCase Western University,Cleveland,Ohio:M. Deborrah Hyde^[394][395]

First African American to earn aPh.D. in biological and agricultural engineering fromNorth Carolina State University:Godfrey A. Gayle^[396]

First African-American woman to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree fromWright State University School of Medicine:Carol Jean Hubbard^[397]

First African American to graduate from theUniversity of Missouri-Rolla (geological engineering):Denise Annette Ford^[398]

• 1983

First African American to be elected president of theNational Association of Women Lawyers:Mahala Ashley Dickerson

First African-American woman elected to theGreensboro City Council:Katie G. Dorsett^[399]

First African American trustee of theUniversity of Georgia:Hamilton E. Holmes^[400]

First African Americans to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree fromNortheastern Ohio University College of Medicine:Rochelle A. Broome,Margo Shamberger,Yvonne A. Patterson, andJohn D. Lewis^[401]

First African Americans to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree fromUniversity of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa:Lori Margaret Campbell andPaul Jeffrey Smith^[402]

First African American to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree from theEast Tennessee State UniversityJames H. Quillen College of Medicine:Gregory Patterson^[403]

• 1984

First African-American elected to a statewide office inGeorgia:Robert Benham,Supreme Court of Georgia

First African-American woman to be elected to theVirginia General Assembly:Yvonne B. Miller

First African American to be sworn in as theNew York City Police Commissioner:Benjamin Ward

First African-American woman to hold aLouisiana cabinet position (head of the state Department of Urban and Community Affairs):Dorothy Mae Taylor

An African American was appointed as the firstPoet Laureate of the District of Columbia:Sterling Allen Brown^[404]

• 1985

First African-American woman to be elected to theMississippi Legislature:Alyce Clarke

First African-American woman elected to theOregon Legislature:Margaret Carter

First African-American woman appointed Administrator of theBoston Housing Authority:Doris Bunte^[405]

• 1986

First African-American women elected to theOklahoma State Senate:Vicki Miles-LaGrange andMaxine Horner

First African-American woman elected as county commissioner inPayne County, Oklahoma:Bernice Mitchell

First woman and second African American to receive adoctorate in musical arts fromYale University,New Haven, Connecticut:Kay George Roberts^[406]

• 1987

First African-American justice of theConnecticut Supreme Court:Robert D. Glass

First African-American woman to anchor a nightly newscast inCleveland, and the first solo anchor of a weeknight newscast in that city:Romona Robinson^[407]

First African-American woman commissioner of theLos Angeles Board of Public Works:Myrlie Evers-Williams^[408]

• 1988

First African-American elected to theWyoming Legislature:Harriet Elizabeth Byrd

First African-American woman in the United States to serve on theSupreme Court of Pennsylvania:Juanita Kidd Stout

First African-American woman to earn aPhD at theUniversity of Michigan inchemical engineering:Rosemarie Wesson

First African-American woman to earn a doctorate inelectrical engineering atRice University,Houston,Texas:Sandra Johnson^[409]

First African-American woman to become a superior court judge inGeorgia:Leah Ward Sears^[410]

First African AmericanPoet Laureate of Rhode Island:Michael S. Harper^[411]

• 1989

First African American electedstudent body president ofTexas A&M University:Ashanti Johnson^[412]

First African-American woman to earn aPh.D. inOld Testament Studies fromPrinceton Theological Seminary:Renita J. Weems^[413]

First African American to be thePoet Laureate of Louisiana:Pinkie Gordon Lane^[414]

• 1990

First African-Americangovernor 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

First African-American principal dancer for theHouston Ballet:Lauren Anderson^[415]

First African-American woman to earn aPh.D. inelectrical engineering fromGeorgia Institute of Technology:Janet C. Rutledge^[416]

First African American and first woman chief administrator of the flagship of the four campusHouston system when appointed president of theUniversity of Houston:Marguerite Ross Barnett^[417]

• 1991

First African-American woman elected to theLouisiana State Senate:Diana Bajoie

First woman to serve as aCalifornia horse racing steward:Cheryl White

First African-American woman to earn aPh.D. inelectrical engineering fromUniversity of California at Berkeley:Valerie E. Taylor^[418]

First African American to earn aDoctor of Medicine (MD) degree from theUniversity of Nevada School of Medicine:Carl Demardrian Virgil^[419]

• 1992

First African-American elected to a statewide office inIndiana:Pamela Carter, office ofAttorney General

First African-AmericanMinnesota Supreme Court justice:Alan Page

First African-American woman elected toCongress from Michigan:Barbara-Rose Collins

First African American since the Reconstruction era elected to representFlorida in theUnited States Congress:Carrie Meek

First African Americans to win election to theUnited States House of Representatives fromNorth Carolina since 1898:Eva Clayton andMel Watt

First African-American woman to receive a bachelor's degree inphysics from theUniversity of Virginia:Marta Dark McNeese^[420]

• 1993

First African-Americansenator 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).

First African-American woman elected to theSelma City Council,Alabama:Nancy Sewell^[421]

• 1994

First African-American woman elected to theNevada Legislature:Bernice Mathews

First African-American woman elected to theDelaware Senate:Margaret Rose Henry

First African-American woman to serve as aColorado state senator:Gloria Tanner

First African-American woman fromAlabama to earn aPh.D. degree inphysics (Alabama A&M University):Shelia Nash-Stevenson^[422]

• 1995

First African American selected to be president of theDallas County Medical Society,Texas:James Leonard Sweatt, III^[423]

• 1996

First African-American woman elected to theOregon Legislature:Avel Gordly

• 1998

First African-American woman electedState Treasurer and first African-American woman elected statewide in Connecticut:Denise Nappier^[424]

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

First African-American woman to earn aPh.D. inAstronomy from theUniversity of Michigan:Beth A. Brown

First African American to serve as a mayor on the Eastern Shore ofMaryland and to be elected to any countywide office inWorcester County, Maryland (Orphan’s Court Judge):Fannie Birckhead^[425]

First woman and the first African American to be appointed asChief Justice for Administration and Management for theMassachusetts Trial Court:Barbara A. Dortch-Okara^[426]

First African-American woman to earn aPh.D. inelectrical engineering fromPolytechnic University and Principal Technical Patent Architect at NVIDIA:Ruthie D. Lyle^[427][428]

First African American woman and first woman to become aSan Francisco cable car gripwoman: Fannie Mae Barnes^[429]

• 1999

First African-American woman justice of theSupreme Court of Florida:Peggy Quince

First African American to earn a doctoral degree inoceanography fromTexas A&M University:Ashanti Johnson^[430]

First African-American woman to earn herPh.D. inastronomy atUniversity of Washington:Dara Norman^[431]

• 2001

First African-American woman elected to theMinnesota Legislature:Neva Walker

First African-American woman in theMissouri Air National Guard to be promoted toBrigadier general:Edith Mitchell^[432]

First African American electedmayor pro tem ofGreensboro:Yvonne Johnson^[433][434]

First African-American woman and second person to be selectedpoet laureate ofDetroit, Michigan:Naomi Long Madgett^[435]

First African AmericanPoet Laureate of Connecticut:Marilyn Nelson^[436]

• 2002

First African-Americanlieutenant governor of Maryland and first elected to statewide office inMaryland:Michael Steele (see also: 2009)

First African-American woman president of a State Medical Society in the United States (President of the Medical Association State ofAlabama):Regina Benjamin^[437]

First African American appointed asPoet Laureate of New Jersey:Amiri Baraka^[438]

• 2003

First African-American woman to be crownedMiss Florida in theMiss America pageant's 81-year history:Ericka Dunlap

• 2004

First African-AmericanDistrict Attorney inCalifornia:Kamala Harris (San Francisco) (see also: 2010, 2017)

First African-AmericanOklahoma Supreme Court justice:Tom Colbert

First African-AmericanWisconsin Supreme Court justice:Louis B. Butler

First African-AmericanAuditor of Accounts of Vermont and first elected to statewide office inVermont:Randy Brock

First African-American congresswoman elected in Wisconsin's history:Gwen Moore

First African AmericanPoet Laureate of Virginia:Rita Dove^[439]

• 2005

First African-American woman chief justice of a state supreme court in the United States when she becameChief Justice of theSupreme Court of Georgia:Leah Ward Sears^[440]

• 2006

First African-American electedgovernor of Massachusetts:Deval Patrick

First African-Americanlieutenant governor of New York:David Paterson

First African-American woman to graduate with aPhD inphysics fromJohns Hopkins University inBaltimore,Maryland:Jami Valentine^[441]

First African-American woman to serve on theNorth Carolina Supreme Court:Patricia Timmons-Goodson^[442]

• 2007

First African-American appointedState Treasurer of New Jersey:Michellene Davis

First African American elected mayor ofGreensboro:Yvonne Johnson^[443]

• 2008

First African-American woman electedSpeaker 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 theNebraska Legislature:Tanya Cook andBrenda Council

First African-American woman to head any branch of Florida government when she assumed the office of Chief Justice of theSupreme Court of Florida:Peggy Quince

First African-American woman elected to theKansas Senate:Oletha Faust-Goudeau

First African-American woman to be elected president of theAmerican Academy of Religion (AAR):Emilie Townes^[444]

First African American appointedMadison, Wisconsin poet laureate:Fabu Carter^[445][446]

• 2009

Firstbicameral state legislature to have both chambers headed simultaneously by African Americans:Peter Groff andTerrance Carroll ofColorado

First African-American woman elected to theBoston City Council:Ayanna Pressley

• 2010

First African-American electedAttorney General of California:Kamala Harris (see also: 2004, 2017)

First African-AmericanChief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court:Roderick L. Ireland

First African-American elected to theIdaho Legislature:Cherie Buckner-Webb

First African-American woman elected toCongress fromAlabama:Terri Sewell

First African-American woman elected to theColorado State House of Representatives, representing District 42 fromAurora, Colorado:Rhonda Fields

First African-American woman to beattorney general inNew Jersey:Paula Dow

First African-American woman elected mayor ofTacoma,Washington:Marilyn Strickland^[447]

• 2011

First African-American woman to earn tenure in the College of Engineering atPurdue University:Monica Cox^[448]

• 2012

First African-American elected to theIdaho Senate:Cherie Buckner-Webb

Second African-American woman and the fourth African American to earn adoctoral degree inphysics from TheUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham:Hadiyah-Nicole Green^[449]

First African-American woman to serve as aJefferson County, Alabama municipal and circuit court judge:Carole Smitherman^[450]

First African AmericanPoet Laureate of Mississippi (first person to serve simultaneously as a state and U.S. laureate):Natasha Trethewey^[451]

• 2013

First African-American senator fromSouth Carolina:Tim Scott^[452] (Also the first African-American to serve both houses of theU.S. Congress.)

First African-American woman to be appointed to a seat on theNew York Court of Appeals:Sheila Abdus-Salaam.

First African-American senator from New Jersey:Cory Booker

First African-American woman to serve as Chief DeputyAttorney General for theCommonwealth of Virginia:Cynthia Eppes Hudson

First African-American woman to serve as a judge on theMaryland Court of Appeals, the state's highest court:Shirley M. Watts

First African American to serve as thechief justice of theLouisiana Supreme Court:Bernette Joshua Johnson^[453][454]

First African American dean atVanderbilt Divinity School:Emilie Townes^[455]

First African-American woman to serve as a Justice of theMassachusetts Appeals Court:Geraldine Hines^[456]

• 2014

First African-American senator elected from the South since Reconstruction:Tim Scott^[457]

First African-American woman to representNew Jersey in theU.S. House of Representatives:Bonnie Watson Coleman

First African-American woman to be elected to theIllinois House of Representatives 103rd district:Carol Ammons

First woman and the first African American to leadTrinity College (Connecticut):Joanne Berger-Sweeney^[458]

First African-American woman to be named the John H. Harlanddean ofEmory University'sGoizueta Business School:Erika H. James^[459]

First African-American woman to complete herPhD inastrophysics atYale University:Jedidah Isler^[460]

First African-American woman to serve as an associate justice of theMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court:Geraldine Hines^[461]

• 2015

First African-American electedSpeaker of the New York State Assembly:Carl Heastie^[462]

First African-AmericanLieutenant Governor of Kentucky and first elected to statewide office inKentucky:Jenean Hampton^[463][464]

First African-American woman elected to theUtah Legislature:Sandra Hollins

First African-American woman fromRedstone Arsenal,Alabama, selected for the government'sSenior Executive Service (SES):Juanita Christensen^[465]

First African Americans to own acannabis dispensary and an edibles business inColorado:Wanda James and Scott Durrah^[466]

First African Americans and first twin siblings to be co-Poet Laureate of Delaware:Nnamdi Chukwuocha and Al Mills^[467]

• 2016

First African-American woman to serve assuperintendent of theLos Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the second-largest school district in the United States:Michelle King

First African American to serve as president ofWellesley College:Paula Johnson^[468]

• 2017

First African-AmericanUnited States Senator fromCalifornia:Kamala Harris (see also: 2004, 2010)

First African-American electedlieutenant governor ofNew Jersey:Sheila Oliver^[469]

First African-American outtrans woman to be elected to public office in the United States:Andrea Jenkins

First African-American woman to serve as district attorney in theCommonwealth of Pennsylvania:Kelley B. Hodge

• 2018

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

First African-American electedLieutenant Governor of Michigan:Garlin Gilchrist^[470]

First African-AmericanAttorney General of New York:Letitia James^[471]

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

First African-American electedLieutenant Governor of Illinois:Juliana Stratton

First African-American woman elected to representConnecticut inCongress:Jahana Hayes

First African-American woman elected toCongress fromMassachusetts:Ayanna Pressley

First African American to be appointedNorth Carolina Poet Laureate:Jaki Shelton Green^[472]

First African American officialIndiana State Poet Laureate:Adrian Matejka^[473]

• 2019

First African-American electedAttorney General of Kentucky:Daniel Cameron

First Surgeon General for the State of California:Nadine Burke Harris^[474]

First African-American woman elected to be chair of theMichigan Democratic Party:Lavora Barnes

First African-American woman to serve as director of theIllinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) in its 143-year history:Ngozi Ezike^[475]

First African-American woman to serve as chief justice of theNorth Carolina Supreme Court:Cheri Beasley^[476]

First African-American Woman elected as aPortland City Commissioner,Portland, Oregon:Jo Ann Hardesty^[477]

First African-American woman to earn aPh.D. incomputer science atCornell University:Rediet Abebe^[478]

• 2020

This section needs to beupdated. The reason given is: Missing firsts for 2020 and 2021.. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(January 2021)

First African-American congresswoman elected in Missouri's history:Cori Bush^[479]

First African-American electedLieutenant Governor of North Carolina:Mark Robinson

First African-American woman and first woman to be named dean of theWharton School of the University of Pennsylvania:Erika H. James^[480]

First African-American woman to serve on theRaleigh City Council:Stormie Forte^[481]

First African-AmericanChief Justice of theMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court:Kimberly S. Budd^[482]

First African-American woman to earn aPh.D. incomputer science from theUniversity of Florida:Jasmine Bowers^[483]

• 2021

This section needs to beupdated. The reason given is: Missing firsts for 2020 and 2021.. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(January 2021)

First African-American senator from Georgia and first African-American Democratic Senator from the South:Raphael Warnock^[484]

First African-American woman to serve on theSupreme Court of Missouri:Robin Ransom^[485]

First African-American woman electedLieutenant Governor of Virginia:Winsome Sears

First African-American woman to serve asSecretary of the State of Connecticut:Natalie Braswell^[486]

First woman and third Black person to serve as theNew York City Police Commissioner:Keechant Sewell^[487]

First African-American woman to serve asUnited States federal judge for theNorthern District of Mississippi:Debra M. Brown

First African American to bePoet Laureate of Kentucky:Crystal Wilkinson^[488]

• 2022

First African-American electedAttorney General of Maryland:Anthony Brown

First African-American woman electedAttorney General of Massachusetts:Andrea Campbell

First African-American electedLieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania:Austin Davis

First African-American congresswoman elected in Pennsylvania's history:Summer Lee

First African-American electedgovernor of Maryland:Wes Moore

First African-American electedSpeaker of the Michigan House of Representatives:Joe Tate

First African-American woman electedSecretary of State of Connecticut:Stephanie Thomas

First African-American electedSecretary of State of California:Shirley Weber

First African-American woman elected to an executive office inDelaware (theDelaware Auditor of Accounts):Lydia York

First African American namedPoet Laureate of Alabama (also youngest person to hold this position):Ashley M. Jones^[489]

• 2023

First African-American woman electedSpeaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives:Joanna McClinton^[490]

First African-American woman to serve as theSecretary of the State of Connecticut:Stephanie Thomas^[491]

First African AmericanPoet Laureate of Michigan:Nandi Comer^[492]

• 2024

First African American elected to theU.S. House of Representatives fromOregon:Janelle Bynum

First African-American woman to earn aPh.D. inRobotics from theUniversity of Michigan:Oluwami Dosunmu-Ogunbi^[493]

First African American to becomePoet Laureate of Texas:Amanda Johnston^[494]

• 2025

First woman and first African American to represent Delaware in both chambers of Congress:Lisa Blunt Rochester

First African-American electedAttorney General of Virginia:Jay Jones^[495]

First African American to serve asNebraska State Poet:Jewel Rodgers^[496]

• List of first African American mayors