List of African-American U.S. state firsts facts for kids

African Americans are a group of people who are a smaller part of the population in the United States. Throughout history, African Americans have achieved many "firsts" in different areas. These achievements helped to open doors for others and create bigger changes in society. This is often called "breaking the color barrier."

Besides big national and international "firsts," African Americans have also achieved many important "firsts" at the state level.

Pioneers of the 1800s

• 1832

The first governor of African descent in what is now the U.S. was Pío Pico. He was an Afro-Mexican and the last governor of Alta California before it became part of the U.S. in 1848. He later became a U.S. citizen.

• 1868

The first African American to be elected as a lieutenant governor was Oscar Dunn in Louisiana.

Also, the first 33 African American lawmakers were elected in Georgia. They are known as the Original 33.

• 1870

May: The first African American to serve as an acting governor was Oscar James Dunn of Louisiana. He took over when the governor was away.

• 1872

The first African American governor of Louisiana was P. B. S. Pinchback. He was also the first in the U.S. (He was not elected to the governor role, but took over when the elected governor was removed from office.)

• 1873

The first African American to become the Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives was John R. Lynch. This was also the first time for any state legislature.

The first African American elected to the Tennessee General Assembly was Sampson W. Keeble.

• 1876

The first African American elected to the Illinois General Assembly was John W. E. Thomas.

• 1878

The first African American mayor in New York State was Ned Sherman. He was the village president of Cleveland.

• 1879

The first African American elected to the Wyoming Legislature was William Jefferson Hardin.

The first African American elected to the Ohio General Assembly was George Washington Williams.

• 1880

The first African American elected to the Indiana General Assembly was James Sidney Hinton.

• 1885

The first African American elected to the Rhode Island General Assembly was Mahlon Van Horne.

• 1889

The first African American woman to be a principal in Massachusetts and the Northeast was Maria Louise Baldwin. She led a school with mostly white teachers and students. The school was later named after her.

• 1893

The first African American elected to the Michigan House of Representatives was William Webb Ferguson.

• 1898

The first African American elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives was John Francis Wheaton.

Groundbreakers of the 1900s

• 1906

The first African American elected to the Wisconsin Legislature was Lucian H. Palmer.

• 1917

The first African American student to attend the University of Oregon was Mabel Byrd.

• 1918

The first African American elected to political office in California was Frederick Madison Roberts for the California State Assembly.

• 1920

The first African American elected to the Missouri legislature was Walthall Moore.

• 1924

The first African American elected to the Illinois Senate was Adelbert Roberts.

• 1930

The first African Americans elected as judges in New York were James S. Watson and Charles E. Toney.

• 1938

The first African American woman elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly and to any state legislature was Crystal Bird Fauset.

• 1939

The first African American woman to own a cosmetology school in Iowa was Pauline Brown Humphrey.

• 1948

The first African American elected to the Delaware House of Representatives was William J. Winchester.

• 1950

The first African American woman elected to the West Virginia Legislature was Elizabeth Simpson Drewry.

The first African American woman elected to the Michigan Legislature was Charline White.

• 1952

The first African American to graduate from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences was Edith Irby Jones.

• 1955

The first African American woman elected to the New York State Legislature was Bessie A. Buchanan.

The first African American elected to the Maryland State Senate was Harry A. Cole.

• 1956

The first African American student to attend the University of Alabama was Autherine Lucy.

The first African American to teach at a college or university in California was Betty Smith Williams.

• 1957

The first African American woman elected to the New Jersey Legislature was Madaline A. Williams.

• 1958

The first African American women elected to the Maryland General Assembly were Verda F. Welcome and Irma George Dixon.

The first African American woman elected to the Illinois General Assembly was Floy Clements.

The first African American to graduate from the University of Maryland was Elaine J. Coates.

• 1959

The first African American to graduate from the University of Maryland was Elaine J. Coates.

• 1962

The first African American attorney general of Massachusetts was Edward Brooke. He was also the first African American to hold a statewide office in Massachusetts.

• 1963

The first African American elected to the Delaware Senate was Herman Holloway.

• 1964

The first African American woman elected to the Indiana Legislature was Daisy Riley Lloyd.

The first African American woman elected to the New York State Senate was Constance Baker Motley.

• 1966

The first African American woman elected to the Texas Legislature was Barbara Jordan.

The first African American woman elected to the Georgia General Assembly was Grace Towns Hamilton.

The first African American appointed to the New York State Board of Regents was Kenneth Bancroft Clark.

The first African American senator from Massachusetts was Edward Brooke. He was also the first African American elected to the U.S. Senate by popular vote after the Civil War.

The first African American woman in the California Legislature was Yvonne Brathwaite Burke.

The first African American woman elected to the Tennessee General Assembly was Dorothy Lavinia Brown.

The first African American woman elected to the Arizona Legislature was Ethel Maynard.

• 1967

The first African American woman allowed to practice law in Mississippi was Marian Wright Edelman.

The first African American woman elected to the Montana Legislature was Geraldine W. Travis.

• 1968

The first African American elected to the Florida Legislature since the Civil War period was Joe Lang Kershaw.

• 1969

The first African American elected mayor of a Mississippi city since the Civil War period was Charles Evers in Fayette, Mississippi.

• 1970

The first African Americans elected to the Alaska Legislature were Willard L. Bowman and Joshua Wright.

The first African American woman elected to the Delaware General Assembly was Henrietta R. Johnson.

The first African American woman elected to the Florida Legislature was Gwen Cherry.

• 1971

The first African American woman elected to the Washington Legislature was Peggy Maxie.

• 1972

The first African American elected to the Wisconsin Senate was Monroe Swan.

• 1973

The first African American woman elected to the Massachusetts General Court was Doris Bunte.

The first African American woman elected to the Connecticut General Assembly was Margaret E. Morton.

• 1974

The first African American woman elected to the Michigan State Board of Education was Barbara Roberts Mason.

The first African American man elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives was Henry Richardson.

• 1975

The first African American woman elected to the South Carolina Legislature was Juanita Goggins.

• 1976

The first African American appointed as a judge in a Federal District Court in Virginia was Robert H. Cooley III.

The first African American mayor in New Mexico was Albert Johnson.

• 1977

The first African American to serve on the California Supreme Court was Wiley W. Manuel.

The first African American Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives was K. Leroy Irvis. This was the first time for any state legislature in the U.S. since the Civil War period.

The first African American woman elected to the Wisconsin Legislature was Marcia P. Coggs.

The first African American woman elected to the Illinois Senate was Earlean Collins.

• 1978

The first African American appointed to the office of Michigan State Treasurer was Loren E. Monroe.

The first African American woman elected to the Ohio Legislature was Helen Rankin.

• 1979

The first African American elected to a statewide office in Illinois was Roland Burris, as Comptroller.

The first African American elected to a statewide office in Wisconsin was Vel Phillips, as Secretary of State.

• 1980

The first African American Speaker of the California State Assembly was Willie Lewis Brown Jr..

• 1981

The first African American woman elected to the Arkansas General Assembly was Irma Hunter Brown.

The first African American elected to the Utah Senate was Terry Lee Williams.

• 1984

The first African American elected to a statewide office in Georgia was Robert Benham for the Supreme Court of Georgia.

The first African American woman elected to the Virginia General Assembly was Yvonne B. Miller.

• 1985

The first African American woman elected to the Mississippi Legislature was Alyce Clarke.

The first African American woman elected to the Oregon Legislature was Margaret Carter.

• 1987

The first African American justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court was Robert D. Glass.

• 1988

The first African American elected to the Wyoming Legislature was Harriet Elizabeth Byrd.

• 1990

The first African American governor of Virginia was Douglas Wilder. He was also the first elected African American governor in the U.S.

The first African American woman elected to the Alaska Legislature was Bettye Davis.

• 1991

The first African American woman elected to the Louisiana State Senate was Diana Bajoie.

• 1992

The first African American elected to a statewide office in Indiana was Pamela Carter, as Attorney General.

The first African American Minnesota Supreme Court justice was Alan Page.

• 1993

The first African American senator from Illinois was Carol Moseley Braun. She was also the first African American woman elected to the U.S. Senate.

• 1994

The first African American woman elected to the Nevada Legislature was Bernice Mathews.

The first African American woman elected to the Delaware Senate was Margaret Rose Henry.

• 1996

The first African American woman elected to the Oregon Legislature was Avel Gordly.

• 1998

The first African American woman elected State Treasurer and the first African American woman elected statewide in Connecticut was Denise Nappier.

The first African American elected to the office of Attorney General in Georgia was Thurbert E. Baker.

Leaders of the 2000s

• 2001

The first African American woman elected to the Minnesota Legislature was Neva Walker.

• 2002

The first African American lieutenant governor of Maryland and the first elected to statewide office in Maryland was Michael Steele.

• 2004

The first African American District Attorney in California was Kamala Harris in San Francisco.

The first African American Oklahoma Supreme Court justice was Tom Colbert.

The first African American Wisconsin Supreme Court justice was Louis B. Butler.

The first African American Auditor of Accounts of Vermont and first elected to statewide office in Vermont was Randy Brock.

The first African American congresswoman elected in Wisconsin's history was Gwen Moore.

• 2006

The first African American elected governor of Massachusetts was Deval Patrick.

The first African American lieutenant governor of New York was David Paterson.

• 2007

The first African American appointed State Treasurer of New Jersey was Michellene Davis.

• 2008

The first African American woman elected Speaker of the California State Assembly was Karen Bass.

The first African American governor of New York State was David Paterson. He became governor when the previous governor resigned.

The first African American women elected to the Nebraska Legislature were Tanya Cook and Brenda Council.

• 2009

Colorado became the first state where both parts of its state legislature (the House and Senate) were led by African Americans at the same time. These leaders were Peter Groff and Terrance Carroll.

• 2010

The first African American elected Attorney General of California was Kamala Harris.

The first African American Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court was Roderick L. Ireland.

The first African American elected to the Idaho Legislature was Cherie Buckner-Webb.

• 2012

The first African American elected to the Idaho Senate was Cherie Buckner-Webb.

• 2013

The first African American senator from South Carolina was Tim Scott. He was also the first African American to serve in both houses of the U.S. Congress.

The first African American woman appointed to a seat on the New York Court of Appeals was Sheila Abdus-Salaam.

The first African American senator from New Jersey was Cory Booker.

• 2014

The first African American senator elected from the Southern U.S. since the Civil War period was Tim Scott.

• 2015

The first African American elected Speaker of the New York State Assembly was Carl Heastie.

The first African American Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky and first elected to statewide office in Kentucky was Jenean Hampton.

The first African American woman elected to the Utah Legislature was Sandra Hollins.

• 2017

The first African American United States Senator from California was Kamala Harris.

The first African American elected lieutenant governor of New Jersey was Sheila Oliver.

The first African American trans woman elected to public office in the United States was Andrea Jenkins.

• 2018

The first female African American major-party candidate for governor was Stacey Abrams in Georgia.

The first African American elected Lieutenant Governor of Michigan was Garlin Gilchrist.

The first African American Attorney General of New York was Letitia James.

The first African American and first woman elected Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates was Adrienne A. Jones.

The first African American elected Lieutenant Governor of Illinois was Juliana Stratton.

• 2019

The first African American elected Attorney General of Kentucky was Daniel Cameron.

The first Surgeon General for the State of California was Nadine Burke Harris.

• 2020

The first African American congresswoman elected in Missouri's history was Cori Bush.

The first African American elected Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina was Mark Robinson.

• 2021

The first African American senator from Georgia and first African American Democratic Senator from the South was Raphael Warnock.

The first African American woman to serve on the Supreme Court of Missouri was Robin Ransom.

The first African American woman elected Lieutenant Governor of Virginia was Winsome Sears.

The first African American woman to serve as Secretary of the State of Connecticut was Natalie Braswell.

• 2022

The first African American elected Attorney General of Maryland was Anthony Brown.

The first African American woman elected Attorney General of Massachusetts was Andrea Campbell.

The first African American elected Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania was Austin Davis.

The first African American congresswoman elected in Pennsylvania's history was Summer Lee.

The first African American elected governor of Maryland was Wes Moore.

The first African American elected Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives was Joe Tate.

The first African American woman elected Secretary of State of Connecticut was Stephanie Thomas.

The first African American elected Secretary of State of California was Shirley Weber.

• 2023

The first African American woman elected Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives was Joanna McClinton.

See also

• List of first African American mayors