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

Kamala Harris is the highest-ranking Black person to serve in a Cabinet as Vice President of the United States.

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.

The Cabinet of the United States is a group of important advisors to the President of the United States. They help the President make big decisions for the country. So far, 35 different African Americans have held Cabinet roles. One person even served in two different jobs, making a total of 36 Cabinet appointments.

The U.S. Census Bureau says African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have roots in any of the Black populations of Africa. This term usually means Americans with family history from sub-Saharan Africa. When the U.S. government first started, Black Americans were treated unfairly. They were often seen as second-class citizens or were enslaved. No African American held a Cabinet position before the civil rights movement. This movement led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made it illegal to treat people differently based on their race.

First African Americans in the Cabinet

Robert C. Weaver became the first Black American to join a president's Cabinet. President Lyndon B. Johnson chose him as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in 1966. Later, in 1977, Patricia Roberts Harris became the first Black woman to serve in a presidential Cabinet. She was also named Secretary of Housing and Urban Development by President Jimmy Carter. Two years later, President Carter asked her to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. This made her the first African American to hold two different Cabinet jobs.

On January 20, 2001, Colin Powell became Secretary of State under President George W. Bush. This made him the highest-ranking Black Jamaican-American in the Cabinet. He was fourth in line to become president if something happened to the President and Vice President. In 2005, Condoleezza Rice took over the same job. She became the highest-placed Black person in line to the presidency at that time.

Kamala Harris then became the highest-ranking Black person ever in the line of succession. She was sworn in as the first Black Jamaican/Indian-American Vice President on January 20, 2021, serving with President Joe Biden.

Presidents and Black Cabinet Members

President Bill Clinton appointed the most African Americans to his first Cabinet. He chose four people:

• Mike Espy as Secretary of Agriculture
• Ron Brown as Secretary of Commerce
• Hazel R. O'Leary as Secretary of Energy
• Jesse Brown as Secretary of Veterans Affairs

President Clinton appointed even more African Americans during his second term.

Departments with Black Secretaries

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has had the most African-American secretaries, with six. The Department of Transportation has had three. Other departments like Education, Health and Human Services, Justice, State, and Veterans Affairs have each had two.

The Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Homeland Security, and Labor have each had one. The Interior and the Treasury are the only main departments that have not yet had African-American secretaries.

This list only includes African Americans who were officially chosen by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. They had to take an oath of office to be included.

Barack Obama, the 44th President, was the most senior African American in a role related to the U.S. Cabinet. While not a regular member, he led the Cabinet meetings during his time as President.

Permanent Cabinet Members

This section lists African Americans who have held permanent positions in the Cabinet. These roles are part of the line of succession to the presidency. The table is organized by when their terms began. If terms started on the same day, they are listed by their place in the presidential line of succession.

 *  means this person was the first African American to hold that specific job

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

Past Cabinet Roles

Some government jobs used to be part of the President's Cabinet but are no longer. No African American served in these roles when they were Cabinet positions:

• The Postmaster General (head of the Post Office) stopped being a Cabinet member in 1970.
• The Secretaries of the Navy, Air Force, and Army stopped being Cabinet members in 1947. Their departments became part of the Department of Defense.
• The Secretary of War job ended in 1947 when the Department of War became the Department of Defense.
• The Secretary of Commerce and Labor job ended in 1913 when it split into two separate departments.

Cabinet-Level Positions

The President can also choose other officials to be part of the Cabinet, even if their jobs aren't usually in the main Cabinet. These are called "cabinet-level" positions. These roles do not put them in the line of succession to become president.

This list includes African Americans who have held these special cabinet-level jobs. The table is organized by when their terms began. If terms started on the same day, they are listed in alphabetical order by last name.

 *  means this person was the first African American to hold that specific job

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
3		Raines, FranklinFranklin Raines*	Director of the Office of Management and Budget	April 13, 1996	May 21, 1998			Clinton
4		Jackson, Lisa P.Lisa P. Jackson*	Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency	January 23, 2009	February 19, 2013			Obama
5		Rice, SusanSusan Rice	United States Ambassador to the United Nations	January 26, 2009	June 30, 2013
6		Kirk, RonRon Kirk*	United States Trade Representative	March 18, 2009	March 15, 2013
7		Thomas-Greenfield, LindaLinda Thomas-Greenfield	United States Ambassador to the United Nations	February 25, 2021	January 20, 2025			Biden
8		Regan, Michael S.Michael S. Regan	Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency	March 11, 2021	December 31, 2024
9		Rouse, CeciliaCecilia Rouse*	Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers	March 12, 2021	March 31, 2023
10		Young, ShalandaShalanda Young	Director of the Office of Management and Budget	March 17, 2022	January 20, 2025

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