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

Clark Jr.]] (1967)

• First African American man elected to the Mississippi State Senate since Reconstruction: Arthur Tate (1979)
• First African American woman elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives: Alyce Clarke (1985)
• First African American woman elected to the Mississippi State Senate: Alice Harden (1988)

Missouri

• First African American man elected to the Missouri House of Representatives: Walthall M. Moore (1921)
• First African American man elected to the Missouri Senate: Theodore McNeal (1960)
• First African American woman elected to the Missouri House of Representatives: DeVerne Lee Calloway (1962)
• First African American woman elected to the Missouri Senate: Gwen B. Giles (1977)

Montana

• First African American woman elected to the Montana Legislature: Geraldine W. Travis (1974)

Nebraska

• First African American man elected to the former Nebraska House of Representatives: Matthew Ricketts (1893)
• First African American man elected to the unicameral Nebraska Legislature: John Adams Jr. (1937)
• First African American woman appointed to the Nebraska Legislature: JoAnn Maxey (1977)
• First African American women elected to the Nebraska Legislature: Tanya Cook and Brenda Council (2009)

Nevada

• First African American man elected to the Nevada Assembly: Woodrow Wilson (1966)
• First African American man elected to the Nevada Senate: Joe Neal (1972)
• First African American woman elected to the Nevada Senate: Bernice Mathews (1994)
• First African American woman elected to the Nevada Assembly: Dina Neal (2011)

New Hampshire

• First African American elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives: Henry B. Richardson (1974)
• First African American elected to the New Hampshire Senate: Melanie Levesque (2018)

New Jersey

• First African American man elected to the New Jersey General Assembly: Walter G. Alexander I (1920)
• First African American man to serve as Speaker of the General Assembly: Walter G. Alexander I (1921)
• First African American woman elected to the New Jersey General Assembly: Madaline A. Williams (1957)
• First African American woman elected to the New Jersey Senate: Wynona Lipman (1971)
• First African American man elected as Speaker of the General Assembly: S. Howard Woodson (1974)

New Mexico

• First African American man elected to the New Mexico House of Representatives: Lenton Malry (1969)
• First African American woman elected to the New Mexico House of Representatives: Sheryl Williams Stapleton (1995)
• First African American man elected to the New Mexico Senate: Harold Pope Jr. (2020)

New York

• First African American man elected to the New York State Assembly: Edward A. Johnson (1917)
• First African American man elected to the New York State Senate: Julius A. Archibald (1953)
• First African American woman elected to the New York State Assembly: Bessie A. Buchanan (1955)
• First African American woman elected to the New York State Senate: Constance Baker Motley (1964)
• First African American man elected Speaker of the New York State Assembly: Carl Heastie (2015)

North Carolina

• First African American man elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives: Hanson T. Hughes (1866)
• First African American men elected to the North Carolina Senate: John R. Bryant (1866)
• First African American woman to serve in the North Carolina House of Representatives: Annie Brown Kennedy (appointed, 1979; elected, 1982)
• First African American woman to serve in the North Carolina Senate: Jeanne Hopkins Lucas (1993, appointed and re-elected)

North Dakota

• First African American woman elected to the North Dakota House of Representatives: Hamida Dakane (2022)

Ohio

• First African American man elected to the Ohio House of Representatives: George Washington Williams (1880)
• First African American man elected to the Ohio Senate: John Patterson Green (1892)
• First African American woman elected to the Ohio House of Representatives: Helen Rankin (1978)
• First African American woman elected to the Ohio Senate: Rhine McLin (1994)

Oklahoma

• First African American man elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives: A. C. Hamlin (1908)
• First African American man elected to the Oklahoma Senate: E. Melvin Porter (1965)
• First African American woman elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives: Hannah Atkins (1968)
• First African American woman elected to the Oklahoma Senate: Maxine Horner (1987)
• First African American Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives: T. W. Shannon (2013)

Oregon

• First African American man elected to the Oregon House of Representatives: William McCoy (1972)
• First African American man appointed to the Oregon Senate: William McCoy (circa 1975, appointed and re-elected)
• First African American woman elected to the Oregon House of Representatives: Margaret Carter (1985)
• First African American woman elected to the Oregon Senate: Avel Gordly (1996)

Pennsylvania

• First African American man elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives: Harry W. Bass (1911)
• First African American woman elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives: Crystal Bird Fauset (1938)
• First African American man elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate: Herbert Arlene (1967)
• First African American speaker of the Pennsylvania House: K. Leroy Irvis (1977)
• First African American woman elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate: Roxanne Jones (1985)
• First African American woman speaker of the Pennsylvania House: Joanna McClinton (2023)

Rhode Island

• First African American elected to the Rhode Island House of Representatives: Mahlon Van Horne (1885)
• First African American man elected to the Rhode Island Senate: Charles D. Walton (1983)
• First African American woman elected to the Rhode Island House of Representatives: Maria Lopes (1989)

South Carolina

• First African American men elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives since Reconstruction: Herbert Fielding, James Felder, and I. S. Levy Johnson (1970)
• First African American woman elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives: Juanita Goggins (1975)
• First African American man elected to the South Carolina Senate since Reconstruction: Isaiah DeQuincey Newman (1983)
• First African American woman elected to the South Carolina Senate: Maggie Wallace Glover (1992)

South Dakota

• First African American man elected to the South Dakota House of Representatives: Tony Randolph (2018)

Tennessee

• First African American man elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives: Sampson W. Keeble (1873)
• First African American man elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives since Reconstruction: Archie Walter Willis Jr. (1964)
• First African American woman elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives: Dorothy Lavinia Brown (1966)
• First African American men elected to the Tennessee Senate: Avon Williams and J. O. Patterson Jr. (1969)
• First African American woman elected to the Tennessee Senate: Thelma Harper (1991)

Texas

• First African American men elected to the Texas Senate: George T. Ruby and Matthew Gaines (1869)
• First African American men elected to the Texas House of Representatives: 14 men (1869)
• First African American woman elected to the Texas Senate: Barbara Jordan (1966)
• First African American men elected to the Texas House of Representatives since Reconstruction: Mickey Leland and Craig Washington (1972)
• First African American women elected to the Texas House of Representatives: Senfronia Thompson and Eddie Bernice Johnson (1973)

Utah

• First African American man elected to the Utah House of Representatives: Robert Harris (1976)
• First African American man elected to the Utah Senate: Terry Lee Williams (1983)
• First African American woman elected to the Utah House of Representatives: Sandra Hollins (2015)

Vermont

• First African American man elected to Vermont House of Representatives: Alexander Twilight (1836)
• First African American woman elected to Vermont House of Representatives: Louvenia Bright (1988)
• First African American man elected to the Vermont Senate: Julius D. Canns (1992)

Virginia

• First 24 African American men elected to the Virginia House of Delegates (1869)
• First African American men elected to the Virginia Senate (1869)
• First African American man elected to the Virginia House of Delegates since Reconstruction: William Ferguson Reid (1968)
• First African American man elected to the Virginia Senate since Reconstruction: Douglas Wilder (1970)
• First African American woman elected to the Virginia House of Delegates: Yvonne B. Miller (1984)
• First African American woman elected to the Virginia Senate: Yvonne B. Miller (1988)

Washington

• First African American man elected to the Washington State Legislature: William Owen Bush (1889)
• First African American man elected to the Washington State Senate: John Henry Ryan (1933)
• First African American woman appointed to the Washington State Legislature: Marjorie Pitter King (1965)
• First African American woman elected to the Washington Legislature: Peggy Maxie (1971)
• First African American woman appointed to the Washington State Senate: Rosa Franklin (1993)

West Virginia

• First African American man elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates: Christopher Payne (1886)
• First African American woman to serve in the West Virginia House of Delegates (appointed): Minnie Buckingham Harper (1928)
• First African American woman elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates: Elizabeth Simpson Drewry (1950)
• First African American woman elected to the West Virginia Senate: Marie Redd (1998)
• First African American man to serve in the West Virginia Senate (appointed): Owens Brown (2021)

Wisconsin

• First African American man elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly: Lucian H. Palmer (1906)
• First African American man elected to the Wisconsin Senate: Monroe Swan (1973)
• First African American woman elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly: Marcia P. Coggs (1977)
• First African American woman elected to the Wisconsin Senate: Gwen Moore (1993)

Wyoming

• First African American man elected to the Wyoming Legislature: William Jefferson Hardin (1879)
• First African American woman elected to the Wyoming Legislature: Harriet Elizabeth Byrd (1988)

First Speakers and Caucus Leaders

African Americans have also served as leaders in state legislatures. Here are some of the first to hold these important positions:

• Alabama
  • Quinton Ross, (Senate, Minority Leader)
  • Anthony Daniel (House, Minority Leader)
• Arizona
  • Leah Landrum Taylor (Senate, Minority Leader)
• California
  • Willie Brown (Assembly, Speaker (male))
  • Karen Bass (Assembly, Speaker (female))
• Colorado
  • Terrance Carroll (Assembly, Speaker)
  • Peter Groff (Senate, President)
• Georgia
  • Charles Walker (Senate, Majority Leader)
  • Robert Brown (Senate, Minority Leader)
  • Stacey Abrams (House, Minority Leader)
• Illinois
  • Cecil A. Partee (Senate, President)
• Louisiana
  • Diana Bajoie (Senate, President Pro Tempore)
• Maryland
  • Adrienne Jones (House, Speaker)
• Michigan
  • Kwame Kilpatrick (House, Minority Leader)
• Mississippi
  • John R. Lynch (House, Speaker)
• New Jersey
  • Walter G. Alexander I (Assembly, acting Speaker)
  • S. Howard Woodson (Assembly, Speaker)
• New York
  • Andrea Stewart-Cousins (Senate, Majority Leader)
  • Carl Heastie (Assembly, Speaker)
  • David Paterson (Senate, Minority Leader)
• Ohio
  • William L. Mallory Sr. (House, Majority Leader (male))
  • Tracy Maxwell Heard (House, Majority Leader (female), Minority Leader)
  • Ben Espy (Senate, Minority Leader (male))
  • Rhine McLin (Senate, Minority Leader (female))
  • Jack Ford (House, Minority Leader)
• Oklahoma
  • T. W. Shannon (House, Speaker)
• Oregon
  • Jackie Winters (Senate, Minority Leader)
• Pennsylvania
  • K. Leroy Irvis (House, Speaker)
  • Joanna McClinton (House, Minority Leader (female))
• Tennessee
  • Karen Camper (House, Minority Leader)
• Virginia
  • Charniele Herring (House, Majority Leader)

See also

• African-American officeholders in the United States, 1789–1866
• African-American officeholders during and following the Reconstruction era
• List of African-American officeholders (1900–1959)