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African-American presidents of the United States in popular culture facts for kids

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Before Barack Obama became the first African American president of the United States in 2008, many writers, filmmakers, and TV shows imagined what it would be like to have a Black president. Different actors have played a Black president in both serious stories and comedies.

How Media Depictions Shaped Views

When Black actors played the president in popular movies and TV shows, it might have helped Americans get used to the idea of a Black man leading the country. Dennis Haysbert, who played a Black president on the show 24, said his role "may have opened the eyes, the minds and the hearts of people." He felt this happened because his character was so well-liked. The show also made people wonder if TV series could help prepare the public for big changes.

After Barack Obama was elected, some people talked about the "Huxtable effect." This idea came from The Cosby Show. This show featured a kind and successful Black family, which was new for TV at the time. It showed an upwardly mobile Black family, free from common stereotypes. Some even believe the show helped Obama win the election.

Fictional Presidents in Novels

In 1964, Irving Wallace wrote a popular novel called The Man. It was about a Black president named Douglass Dilman. The book showed the challenges a Black president might face. It also explained how Dilman became president through a very unusual series of events. This novel was later made into a movie in 1972 starring James Earl Jones.

Other novels also featured a first Black president. These include Philip K. Dick's The Crack in Space (1966) and T. Ernesto Bethancourt's young adult novel The Tomorrow Connection (1984).

Black Presidents in Comedy

After new civil rights laws passed in the 1960s, Black people started taking a bigger part in politics. Soon, comedians began including Black presidents in their jokes. In the 1960s, Bill Cosby often told jokes about an imaginary first Black president. He later stopped these jokes to reach a wider audience.

In 1983, Eddie Murphy performed a funny skit about a Black president. This was part of his stand-up show Eddie Murphy Delirious.

Movies and Television Shows

Many writers and directors have shown a Black man as president in memorable ways. There have also been ideas for films and TV shows based on this concept.

The first movie to show a Black American president was likely the 1933 short musical comedy Rufus Jones for President. In this film, 7-year-old Sammy Davis Jr. dreams of becoming president.

The 1941 musical movie Babes on Broadway featured Judy Garland singing a song about "Franklin Delano Jones," the first Black president.

In 1972, the novel The Man was made into a film starring James Earl Jones. The movie showed a heroic Black man as president. He stood up to his rivals and aimed to win the presidency fairly.

In 1977, comedian Richard Pryor played the first Black president in a skit. This was on The Richard Pryor Show, his TV series on NBC.

The 1983 science fiction film Born in Flames by Lizzie Borden also featured a Black president. This movie was set in a different version of the United States.

The 1987 animated series Spiral Zone was the first TV show to seriously show an African-American president. This happened in the episode "The Imposter."

In the 1993 science-fiction series SeaQuest DSV, Steven Williams, an African-American actor, played the unnamed president.

In the 1997 science-fiction film The Fifth Element, Tom Lister, Jr. played President Lindberg. He was the leader of Earth, and his race was never mentioned.

In 1998, the science fiction film Deep Impact featured Morgan Freeman as President Tom Beck. His performance was so impactful that another actor, Dennis Haysbert, seemed to use a similar style when playing a president later.

Ernie Hudson played President Westwood in the 1999 movie Stealth Fighter.

The hit show 24 set a new standard when Dennis Haysbert played David Palmer. He was a successful Black president who fought terrorism. Critics praised his character for showing strength, intelligence, and compassion. After Palmer's character was assassinated, his brother Wayne, played by D.B. Woodside, also became president.

In 2000, Chris Tucker planned to make a movie about the first Black president. He wanted to write, direct, produce, and star in it.

Chris Rock wrote, directed, and starred as presidential candidate Mays Gilliam in the 2003 comedy Head of State. The movie's tagline was "The only thing white is the house."

In CBS's 2004 TV series Century City, the fictional timeline showed Oprah Winfrey as the US president.

Louis Gossett Jr. played the president in two different movies in 2005. He was President Gerald Fitzhugh in Left Behind: World at War and President Ryan Gordon in Solar Attack.

A 2006 BBC Four show depicted Condoleezza Rice as president in an alternate reality.

In ABC's 2008 series Life on Mars, it was hinted that Malia Obama, then a child, would be president in 2035.

After Obama's Election

After Barack Obama became president, more Black actors played the role in movies and TV.

  • Danny Glover played President Thomas Wilson in the 2009 movie 2012.
  • Blair Underwood starred as Elias Martinez, an Afro-Cuban US president, in NBC's 2010 series "The Event".
  • Actor Jamie Foxx played President James William Sawyer in the 2013 movie White House Down.
  • Actor Samuel L. Jackson played William Alan Moore, the US president, in the 2014 movie Big Game.
  • In the 2014-2015 NBC TV series State of Affairs, Alfre Woodard played Constance Payton, the first Black female president.
  • In 2015, Keith David began voicing the President in the animated show Rick and Morty. He has appeared many times since.
  • In 2016, Danny Johnson played President Todd in season 2 of Quantico.
  • The 2019 show Veep showed that President Kemi Talbot (Toks Olagundoye) served two terms. Later, President Richard Splett (Sam Richardson) became president.
  • In 2019, Morgan Freeman played President Allan Trumbull in Angel Has Fallen. He had previously played other high-ranking roles in the same film series.
  • In 2025, Angela Bassett will appear as President Mitchell in the Netflix show Zero Day.

Music and Black Presidents

Music has also explored the idea of a Black president.

  • Parliament's 1975 song Chocolate City imagined Muhammad Ali as President and James Brown as Vice President.
  • In 1983, R&B artist Blowfly released a song called "The first black president."
  • The music video for N.W.A's "Express Yourself" showed the White House with the words "Live from the Black House." It then showed Dr. Dre in what looked like the Oval Office.
  • Rap artist Nas was inspired by Obama's campaign to write "Black President." This song included quotes from Obama.
  • Rap artist Young Jeezy also wrote a song called "My President" inspired by Obama. It featured Nas and had the chorus "My President Is Black..."
  • Actor Rudy Ray Moore joked about running for president on Snoop Dogg's album No Limit Top Dogg. He said his priorities would be painting the White House black and legalizing many things.

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