List of African-American United States Cabinet members

The Cabinet of the United States, which is the principal advisory body to the President of the United States, has had 35 African-American members altogether, with one of them serving in multiple different positions for a total of 36 cabinet appointments. Of that particular number, 25 different Black individuals held a total of 26 permanent cabinet posts, serving as Vice President or head of one of the federal executive departments, and 10 more held cabinet-level positions, which can differ under each president; no one officeholder served in both cabinet and cabinet-rank roles. The U.S. Census Bureau defines African Americans as citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa.[1] The term is generally used for Americans with at least partial ancestry in any of the original peoples of sub-Saharan Africa. During the founding of the federal government, Black Americans were consigned to a status of second-class citizenship or enslaved.[2] No African American ever held a cabinet position before the civil rights movement or the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned discrimination in public accommodations, employment, and labor unions.[3]

Kamala Harris is the highest-ranking black person to serve in a Cabinet as Vice President of the United States.
Colin Powell smiling with eye glasses wearing a dark suit jacket, white button-shirt with collar, and a solid burgundy tie. The United States flag is in the background.
Condoleezza Rice smiling wearing a dark blue jacket over a patterned blouse. The United States flag is in the background.
Colin Powell (left) and Condoleezza Rice (right) are the highest-ranking black Jamaican-American and Black-American to lead the Federal Executive Department; each held the post of Secretary of State.

Robert C. Weaver became the first Black-American to serve in a president's cabinet when he was appointed Secretary of Housing and Urban Development by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966.[4] Patricia Roberts Harris was the first black woman to serve in a presidential cabinet when she was named to the same position by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. Two years later, Carter tapped her for Secretary of Health and Human services,[a] thus making her the first African-American to hold two different cabinet positions.[5]

On January 20, 2001, Colin Powell assumed the post of Secretary of State under President George W. Bush, which made him the highest-ranked black Jamaican-American among cabinet secretaries to enter the presidential line of succession, standing fourth.[6] Condoleezza Rice took over the same position in 2005, during Bush's second term, making her the highest-placed Black person in line to the presidency. Kamala Harris replaced both Powell and Rice to become the highest-ranking black person ever to be in the line of succession upon being inaugurated as the first black Jamaican/Indian-American vice president on January 20, 2021, alongside President Joe Biden.[7][6]

President Bill Clinton named the most African-Americans as secretaries to his first-term cabinet, with four: former U.S. representative Mike Espy (D-MS) as Secretary of Agriculture; DNC chairman Ron Brown as Secretary of Commerce; corporate director Hazel R. O'Leary as Secretary of Energy; and DAV executive director Jesse Brown as Secretary of Veterans affairs. Clinton exceeded that record by three, including cabinet reshuffles during his second term in office.[8]

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has had the most African-American secretaries, with six. The Department of Transportation has had three; the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, Justice, State, and Veterans Affairs have had two; the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Homeland Security, and Labor have had one. The Departments of the Interior and the Treasury are the only existing executive departments that have not yet had African-American secretaries.[9][10]

The totals for this list include only African-American presidential appointees confirmed (if necessary) by the U.S. Senate to cabinet or cabinet-level positions and taking their oath of office; they do not include acting officials or nominees awaiting confirmation.

Permanent cabinet members

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The following list includes African-Americans who have held permanent positions in the Cabinet, all of whom are in the line of succession to the presidency. The table below is organized based on the beginning of their terms in office. Officeholders whose terms begin the same day are listed according to the presidential order of succession.

 *  denotes the first African-American holder of that particular office
No. Portrait Name Office Succession[6] Term start Term end Party Administration(s) Ref.
1   Robert C. Weaver* Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 13 January 18, 1966 December 18, 1968 Democratic Johnson [4]
2   William Coleman* Secretary of Transportation 14 March 7, 1975 January 20, 1977 Republican Ford [11]
3   Patricia Harris Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 13 January 23, 1977 September 10, 1979 Democratic Carter [5]
Secretary of Health and Human Services[a] 12 August 3, 1979 January 20, 1981
4   Samuel Pierce Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 13 January 23, 1981 January 20, 1989 Republican Reagan [13]
5   Louis W. Sullivan Secretary of Health and Human Services 12 March 1, 1989 January 20, 1993 George H. W. Bush [14]
6   Mike Espy* Secretary of Agriculture 9 January 22, 1993 December 31, 1994 Democratic Clinton [15]
6   Ron Brown* Secretary of Commerce 10 January 22, 1993 April 3, 1996 [16]
6   Hazel R. O'Leary* Secretary of Energy 15 January 22, 1993 January 20, 1997 [17]
6   Jesse Brown* Secretary of Veterans Affairs 17 January 22, 1993 July 13, 1997 [18]
10   Rodney E. Slater Secretary of Transportation 14 February 14, 1997 January 20, 2001 [19]
11   Alexis Herman* Secretary of Labor 11 May 1, 1997 January 20, 2001 [20][21]
12   Togo D. West Secretary of Veterans Affairs 17 May 4, 1998 July 25, 2000 [22]
13   Colin Powell* Secretary of State 4 January 20, 2001 January 26, 2005 Republican George W. Bush [23]
13   Rod Paige* Secretary of Education 16 January 20, 2001 January 20, 2005 [24]
15   Alphonso Jackson Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 13 August 31, 2004 April 18, 2008 [25]
16   Condoleezza Rice Secretary of State 4 January 26, 2005 January 20, 2009 [26]
17   Eric Holder* Attorney General 7 February 3, 2009 April 27, 2015 Democratic Obama [27]
18   Anthony Foxx Secretary of Transportation 14 July 2, 2013 January 20, 2017 [28]
19   Jeh Johnson* Secretary of Homeland Security 18 December 23, 2013 January 20, 2017 [29]
20   Loretta Lynch Attorney General 7 April 27, 2015 January 20, 2017 [30]
21   John King Secretary of Education 16 January 1, 2016 January 20, 2017 [31]
22   Ben Carson Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 13 March 2, 2017 January 20, 2021 Republican Trump [32]
23   Kamala Harris* Vice President 1 January 20, 2021 Incumbent Democratic Biden [7]
24   Lloyd Austin* Secretary of Defense 6 January 22, 2021 Incumbent [33]
25   Marcia Fudge Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 13 March 10, 2021 March 22, 2024 [34]

Former permanent cabinet members

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Cabinet-level positions

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The president may designate or remove additional officials as cabinet members. These positions have not always been in the cabinet, so some African American officeholders may not be listed.

The following list includes African-Americans who have held cabinet-rank positions, which can vary under each president. They are not in the line of succession and are not necessarily officers of the United States. The table below is organized based on the beginning of their terms in office while it was raised to cabinet-level status. Officeholders whose terms begin the same day are listed alphabetically by last name.

 *  denotes the first African-American holder of that particular office
No. Portrait Name Office Term start Term start Party Administration(s) Ref.
1   Andrew Young* United States Ambassador to the United Nations January 30, 1977 September 23, 1979 Democratic Carter [39]
2   Donald McHenry United States Ambassador to the United Nations September 23, 1979 January 20, 1981 [40]
3   Franklin Raines* Director of the Office of Management and Budget April 13, 1996 May 21, 1998 Clinton
4   Lisa P. Jackson* Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency January 23, 2009 February 19, 2013 Obama [41]
5   Susan Rice United States Ambassador to the United Nations January 26, 2009 June 30, 2013 [42]
6   Ron Kirk* United States Trade Representative March 18, 2009 March 15, 2013 [43]
7   Linda Thomas-Greenfield United States Ambassador to the United Nations February 25, 2021 Incumbent Biden [44]
8   Michael S. Regan Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency March 11, 2021 Incumbent [45]
9   Cecilia Rouse* Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers March 12, 2021 March 31, 2023 [46]
10   Shalanda Young Director of the Office of Management and Budget March 17, 2022 Incumbent [47]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b The position was established as Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare on April 11, 1953; renamed Secretary of Health and Human Services on May 4, 1980.[12]

References

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  7. ^ a b Schaff, Erin (November 7, 2020). "Kamala Harris Makes History as First Woman and Woman of Color as Vice President". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 13, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
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