African Americans are a
demographic minority in the
United States. African-Americans' initial achievements in various fields historically establish a foothold, providing a precedent for more widespread cultural change. The shorthand phrase for this is "breaking the color barrier."[1][2]
May: First African-American acting governor:
Oscar James Dunn of
Louisiana from May until August 9, 1871, when sitting Governor Warmoth was incapacitated and chose to recuperate in Mississippi. (see also: Douglas Wilder, 1990)
1872
First African-American governor of Louisiana:
P. B. S. Pinchback (Also first in U.S.) (non-elected; see also Douglas Wilder, 1990)
First African-American female principal in Massachusetts and the Northeast:
Maria Louise Baldwin, supervising white faculty and a predominantly white student body at the Agassiz Grammar School in Cambridge (renamed the Maria L. Baldwin School in 2004).[5][6]
First African-American
attorney general of
Massachusetts:
Edward Brooke. Also first African American to hold Massachusetts statewide office, and first African-American attorney general of any state.
First African-American
senator from Massachusetts:
Edward Brooke. (Also first post-
Reconstruction African American elected to the U.S. Senate and first African American elected to the U.S. Senate by
popular vote).
First African-American appointed as a judge in Federal District Court in Virginia: Robert H. Cooley III (1939–1998), appointed to the Eastern District[20]
First African-American
senator from Illinois:
Carol Moseley Braun. (Also first African-American woman elected to the United States Senate, the first African-American U.S. Senator for the Democratic Party, the first woman to defeat an incumbent U.S. Senator in an election, and the first female Senator from Illinois).
This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: Missing firsts for 2020 and 2021.. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(January 2021)
First African-American congresswoman elected in Missouri's history:
Cori Bush[34]
This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: Missing firsts for 2020 and 2021.. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(January 2021)
First African-American senator from Georgia and first African-American Democratic Senator from the South:
Raphael Warnock[35]
^Juguo, Zhang. W. E. B. Du Bois: The Quest for the Abolition of the Color Line, Routledge, 2001 -
ISBN0-415-93087-1
^Herbst, Philip H. The Color of Words: an encyclopaedic dictionary of ethnic bias in the United States, Intercultural Press, p. 57, 1997 -
ISBN1-877864-97-8
African Americans are a
demographic minority in the
United States. African-Americans' initial achievements in various fields historically establish a foothold, providing a precedent for more widespread cultural change. The shorthand phrase for this is "breaking the color barrier."[1][2]
May: First African-American acting governor:
Oscar James Dunn of
Louisiana from May until August 9, 1871, when sitting Governor Warmoth was incapacitated and chose to recuperate in Mississippi. (see also: Douglas Wilder, 1990)
1872
First African-American governor of Louisiana:
P. B. S. Pinchback (Also first in U.S.) (non-elected; see also Douglas Wilder, 1990)
First African-American female principal in Massachusetts and the Northeast:
Maria Louise Baldwin, supervising white faculty and a predominantly white student body at the Agassiz Grammar School in Cambridge (renamed the Maria L. Baldwin School in 2004).[5][6]
First African-American
attorney general of
Massachusetts:
Edward Brooke. Also first African American to hold Massachusetts statewide office, and first African-American attorney general of any state.
First African-American
senator from Massachusetts:
Edward Brooke. (Also first post-
Reconstruction African American elected to the U.S. Senate and first African American elected to the U.S. Senate by
popular vote).
First African-American appointed as a judge in Federal District Court in Virginia: Robert H. Cooley III (1939–1998), appointed to the Eastern District[20]
First African-American
senator from Illinois:
Carol Moseley Braun. (Also first African-American woman elected to the United States Senate, the first African-American U.S. Senator for the Democratic Party, the first woman to defeat an incumbent U.S. Senator in an election, and the first female Senator from Illinois).
This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: Missing firsts for 2020 and 2021.. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(January 2021)
First African-American congresswoman elected in Missouri's history:
Cori Bush[34]
This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: Missing firsts for 2020 and 2021.. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(January 2021)
First African-American senator from Georgia and first African-American Democratic Senator from the South:
Raphael Warnock[35]
^Juguo, Zhang. W. E. B. Du Bois: The Quest for the Abolition of the Color Line, Routledge, 2001 -
ISBN0-415-93087-1
^Herbst, Philip H. The Color of Words: an encyclopaedic dictionary of ethnic bias in the United States, Intercultural Press, p. 57, 1997 -
ISBN1-877864-97-8