List of African-American United States Cabinet members facts for kids

Permanent cabinet members

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	Term start	Term end	Party		Administration(s)
1		Weaver, Robert C.Robert C. Weaver*	Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	14	January 18, 1966	December 18, 1968		Democratic	Johnson
2		Coleman, WilliamWilliam Coleman*	Secretary of Transportation	14	March 7, 1975	January 20, 1977		Republican	Ford
3/4		Harris, PatriciaPatricia Harris	Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	13	January 23, 1977	September 10, 1979		Democratic	Carter
Secretary of Health and Human Services			12	August 3, 1979	January 20, 1981
5		Pierce, SamuelSamuel Pierce	Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	13	January 23, 1981	January 20, 1989		Republican	Reagan
6		Sullivan, Louis W.Louis W. Sullivan	Secretary of Health and Human Services	12	March 1, 1989	January 20, 1993			George H. W. Bush
7		Espy, MikeMike Espy*	Secretary of Agriculture	9	January 22, 1993	December 31, 1994		Democratic	Clinton
8		Brown, RonRon Brown*	Secretary of Commerce	10	January 22, 1993	April 3, 1996
9		O'Leary, Hazel R.Hazel R. O'Leary*	Secretary of Energy	15	January 22, 1993	January 20, 1997
10		Brown, JesseJesse Brown*	Secretary of Veterans Affairs	17	January 22, 1993	July 13, 1997
11		Slater, Rodney E.Rodney E. Slater	Secretary of Transportation	14	February 14, 1997	January 20, 2001
12		Herman, AlexisAlexis Herman*	Secretary of Labor	11	May 1, 1997	January 20, 2001
13		West, Togo D.Togo D. West	Secretary of Veterans Affairs	17	May 4, 1998	July 25, 2000
14		Powell, ColinColin Powell*	Secretary of State	4	January 20, 2001	January 26, 2005		Republican	George W. Bush
15		Paige, RodRod Paige*	Secretary of Education	16	January 20, 2001	January 20, 2005
16		Jackson, AlphonsoAlphonso Jackson	Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	13	August 31, 2004	April 18, 2008
17		Rice, CondoleezzaCondoleezza Rice	Secretary of State	4	January 26, 2005	January 20, 2009
18		Holder, EricEric Holder*	Attorney General	7	February 3, 2009	April 27, 2015		Democratic	Obama
19		Foxx, AnthonyAnthony Foxx	Secretary of Transportation	14	July 2, 2013	January 20, 2017
20		Johnson, JehJeh Johnson*	Secretary of Homeland Security	18	December 23, 2013	January 20, 2017
21		Lynch, LorettaLoretta Lynch	Attorney General	7	April 27, 2015	January 20, 2017
22		King, JohnJohn King	Secretary of Education	16	January 1, 2016	January 20, 2017
23		Carson, BenBen Carson	Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	13	March 2, 2017	January 20, 2021		Republican	Trump I
24		Harris, KamalaKamala Harris*	Vice President	1	January 20, 2021	January 20, 2025		Democratic	Biden
25		Austin, LloydLloyd Austin*	Secretary of Defense	6	January 22, 2021	January 20, 2025
26		Fudge, MarciaMarcia Fudge	Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	13	March 10, 2021	March 22, 2024
27		Turner, ScottScott Turner	Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	13	February 5, 2025	Incumbent		Republican	Trump II

Former permanent cabinet members

• The Postmaster General ceased to be a member of the cabinet when the Post Office Department was re-organized into the United States Postal Service, a special agency independent of the executive branch, by the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970. No African American had ever served while it was a cabinet post.
• The Secretaries of the Navy, Air Force, and Army ceased to be members of the cabinet when the Department of the Navy was absorbed into the Department of Defense in 1947. No African American had ever served while they were cabinet posts.
• The Secretary of War became defunct when the Department of War became the Department of Defense in 1947. No African American had ever served while it was a cabinet post.
• The Secretary of Commerce and Labor became defunct when the Department of Commerce and Labor was subdivided into two separate entities in 1913. No African American had ever served while it was a cabinet post.

Cabinet-level positions

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 end	Party		Administration(s)
1		Young, AndrewAndrew Young*	United States Ambassador to the United Nations	January 30, 1977	September 23, 1979		Democratic	Carter
2		McHenry, DonaldDonald McHenry	United States Ambassador to the United Nations	September 23, 1979	January 20, 1981		Democratic
3		Perkins, Edward J.Edward J. Perkins	United States Ambassador to the United Nations	May 12, 1992	January 27, 1993		Republican	H. W. Bush Clinton
4		Raines, FranklinFranklin Raines*	Director of the Office of Management and Budget	April 13, 1996	May 21, 1998		Democratic	Clinton
5		Jackson, Lisa P.Lisa P. Jackson*	Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency	January 23, 2009	February 19, 2013		Democratic	Obama
6		Rice, SusanSusan Rice	United States Ambassador to the United Nations	January 26, 2009	June 30, 2013		Democratic
7		Kirk, RonRon Kirk*	United States Trade Representative	March 18, 2009	March 15, 2013		Democratic
8		Thomas-Greenfield, LindaLinda Thomas-Greenfield	United States Ambassador to the United Nations	February 25, 2021	January 20, 2025		Democratic	Biden
9		Regan, Michael S.Michael S. Regan	Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency	March 11, 2021	December 31, 2024		Democratic
10		Rouse, CeciliaCecilia Rouse*	Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers	March 12, 2021	March 31, 2023		Democratic
11		Young, ShalandaShalanda Young	Director of the Office of Management and Budget	March 17, 2022	January 20, 2025		Democratic

See also

• African Americans in the United States Congress
  • List of African-American United States senators
  • List of African-American United States representatives
• Black Cabinet
• List of female United States Cabinet members
• List of first African-American mayors
• List of foreign-born United States Cabinet members
• List of Hispanic and Latino American United States Cabinet members
• List of Jewish United States Cabinet members
• List of minority governors and lieutenant governors in the United States