List of African-American United States Cabinet members

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, which is the principal advisory body to the President of the United States, has had 35 African-American members altogether, with one of them serving in multiple different positions for a total of 36 cabinet appointments. Of that particular number, 25 different Black individuals held a total of 26 permanent cabinet posts, serving as Vice President or head of one of the federal executive departments, and 10 more held cabinet-level positions, which can differ under each president; no one officeholder served in both cabinet and cabinet-rank roles. The U.S. Census Bureau defines African Americans as citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa.^[1] The term is generally used for Americans with at least partial ancestry in any of the original peoples of sub-Saharan Africa. During the founding of the federal government, Black Americans were consigned to a status of second-class citizenship or enslaved.^[2] No African American ever held a cabinet position before the civil rights movement or the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned discrimination in public accommodations, employment, and labor unions.^[3]

Robert C. Weaver became the first Black-American to serve in a president's cabinet when he was appointed Secretary of Housing and Urban Development by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966.^[4] Patricia Roberts Harris was the first black woman to serve in a presidential cabinet when she was named to the same position by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. Two years later, Carter tapped her for Secretary of Health and Human services,^[a] thus making her the first African-American to hold two different cabinet positions.^[5]

On January 20, 2001, Colin Powell assumed the post of Secretary of State under President George W. Bush, which made him the highest-ranked black Jamaican-American among cabinet secretaries to enter the presidential line of succession, standing fourth.^[6] Condoleezza Rice took over the same position in 2005, during Bush's second term, making her the highest-placed Black person in line to the presidency. Kamala Harris replaced both Powell and Rice to become the highest-ranking black person ever to be in the line of succession upon being inaugurated as the first black Jamaican/Indian-American vice president on January 20, 2021, alongside President Joe Biden.^[7][6]

President Bill Clinton named the most African-Americans as secretaries to his first-term cabinet, with four: former U.S. representative Mike Espy (D-MS) as Secretary of Agriculture; DNC chairman Ron Brown as Secretary of Commerce; corporate director Hazel R. O'Leary as Secretary of Energy; and DAV executive director Jesse Brown as Secretary of Veterans affairs. Clinton exceeded that record by three, including cabinet reshuffles during his second term in office.^[8]

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has had the most African-American secretaries, with six. The Department of Transportation has had three; the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, Justice, State, and Veterans Affairs have had two; the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Homeland Security, and Labor have had one. The Departments of the Interior and the Treasury are the only existing executive departments that have not yet had African-American secretaries.^[9][10]

The totals for this list include only African-American presidential appointees confirmed (if necessary) by the U.S. Senate to cabinet or cabinet-level positions and taking their oath of office; they do not include acting officials or nominees awaiting confirmation.

Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, is the most senior African American to have held a role related to the U.S. Cabinet. Although not officially a member, he held the unique position of chairing the Cabinet during his presidency.

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[6]	Term start	Term end	Party		Administration(s)	Ref.
1		Robert C. Weaver*	Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	13	January 18, 1966	December 18, 1968		Democratic	Johnson	[4]
2		William Coleman*	Secretary of Transportation	14	March 7, 1975	January 20, 1977		Republican	Ford	[11]
3		Patricia Harris	Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	13	January 23, 1977	September 10, 1979		Democratic	Carter	[5]
Secretary of Health and Human Services[a]			12	August 3, 1979	January 20, 1981
4		Samuel Pierce	Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	13	January 23, 1981	January 20, 1989		Republican	Reagan	[13]
5		Louis W. Sullivan	Secretary of Health and Human Services	12	March 1, 1989	January 20, 1993			George H. W. Bush	[14]
6		Mike Espy*	Secretary of Agriculture	9	January 22, 1993	December 31, 1994		Democratic	Clinton	[15]
6		Ron Brown*	Secretary of Commerce	10	January 22, 1993	April 3, 1996				[16]
6		Hazel R. O'Leary*	Secretary of Energy	15	January 22, 1993	January 20, 1997				[17]
6		Jesse Brown*	Secretary of Veterans Affairs	17	January 22, 1993	July 13, 1997				[18]
10		Rodney E. Slater	Secretary of Transportation	14	February 14, 1997	January 20, 2001				[19]
11		Alexis Herman*	Secretary of Labor	11	May 1, 1997	January 20, 2001				[20][21]
12		Togo D. West	Secretary of Veterans Affairs	17	May 4, 1998	July 25, 2000				[22]
13		Colin Powell*	Secretary of State	4	January 20, 2001	January 26, 2005		Republican	George W. Bush	[23]
13		Rod Paige*	Secretary of Education	16	January 20, 2001	January 20, 2005				[24]
15		Alphonso Jackson	Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	13	August 31, 2004	April 18, 2008				[25]
16		Condoleezza Rice	Secretary of State	4	January 26, 2005	January 20, 2009				[26]
17		Eric Holder*	Attorney General	7	February 3, 2009	April 27, 2015		Democratic	Obama	[27]
18		Anthony Foxx	Secretary of Transportation	14	July 2, 2013	January 20, 2017				[28]
19		Jeh Johnson*	Secretary of Homeland Security	18	December 23, 2013	January 20, 2017				[29]
20		Loretta Lynch	Attorney General	7	April 27, 2015	January 20, 2017				[30]
21		John King	Secretary of Education	16	January 1, 2016	January 20, 2017				[31]
22		Ben Carson	Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	13	March 2, 2017	January 20, 2021		Republican	Trump	[32]
23		Kamala Harris*	Vice President	1	January 20, 2021	Incumbent		Democratic	Biden	[7]
24		Lloyd Austin*	Secretary of Defense	6	January 22, 2021	Incumbent				[33]
25		Marcia Fudge	Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	13	March 10, 2021	March 22, 2024				[34]

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.^[35]
• 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.^[36][37]
• 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.^[36]
• 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.^[38]

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 start	Party		Administration(s)	Ref.
1		Andrew Young*	United States Ambassador to the United Nations	January 30, 1977	September 23, 1979		Democratic	Carter	[39]
2		Donald McHenry	United States Ambassador to the United Nations	September 23, 1979	January 20, 1981				[40]
3		Franklin Raines*	Director of the Office of Management and Budget	April 13, 1996	May 21, 1998			Clinton
4		Lisa P. Jackson*	Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency	January 23, 2009	February 19, 2013			Obama	[41]
5		Susan Rice	United States Ambassador to the United Nations	January 26, 2009	June 30, 2013				[42]
6		Ron Kirk*	United States Trade Representative	March 18, 2009	March 15, 2013				[43]
7		Linda Thomas-Greenfield	United States Ambassador to the United Nations	February 25, 2021	Incumbent			Biden	[44]
8		Michael S. Regan	Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency	March 11, 2021	Incumbent				[45]
9		Cecilia Rouse*	Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers	March 12, 2021	March 31, 2023				[46]
10		Shalanda Young	Director of the Office of Management and Budget	March 17, 2022	Incumbent				[47]

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

Notes

1. The position was established as Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare on April 11, 1953; renamed Secretary of Health and Human Services on May 4, 1980.^[12]

References

1. "The Black Population: 2010" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
2. "Time Line of African American History, 1881–1900". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on January 17, 1999. Retrieved October 22, 2007.
3. "Transcript of Civil Rights Act (1964)". Archived from the original on April 18, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2009.
4. Weil, Martin (July 20, 1997). "Robert C. Weaver Dies". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 23, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2009.
5. Boyd, Gerald M. (March 24, 1985). "Patricia R. Harris, Carter Aide, Dies". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved January 10, 2009.
6. Feerick, John. "Essays on Amendment XXV: Presidential Succession". The Heritage Guide to the Constitution. The Heritage Foundation. Archived from the original on August 22, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
7. Schaff, Erin (November 7, 2020). "Kamala Harris Makes History as First Woman and Woman of Color as Vice President". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 13, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
8. Johnson, Kevin (April 14, 2013). "A president for everyone, except Black people". The Philadelphia Tribune. Archived from the original on February 2, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
9. "History of the Treasury: Secretaries of the Treasury". United States Department of the Treasury. Archived from the original on March 9, 2014. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
10. "Past Secretaries of Interior". United States Department of the Interior. Archived from the original on July 20, 2015. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
11. Hevesi, Dennis (March 31, 2017). "William T. Coleman Jr., Who Broke Racial Barriers in Court and Cabinet, Dies at 96". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 3, 2018. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
12. "HHS Historical Highlights". United States Department of Health and Human Services. June 19, 2016. Archived from the original on May 22, 2015. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
13. Shenon, Philip (November 3, 2000). "Samuel R. Pierce Jr., Ex-Housing Secretary, Dies at 78". The WNew York Times. Archived from the original on December 19, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2009.
14. "Sullivan Confirmed as HHS Chief by 98-1 Vote". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. March 1, 1989. Archived from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved November 2, 2009.
15. Baer, Susan (October 4, 1994). "Embattled Espy resigns as chief of Agriculture". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on June 20, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
16. Balz, Dan; Sharon, Walsh (April 4, 1996). "Ron Brown, a pioneer at home in black and white America". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
17. Harrington, Linda M. (May 1, 1994). "No Pie in the Sky". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on July 13, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2008.
18. Barringer, Felicity (December 18, 1992). "The Transition: Clinton Selects Ex-Mayor for H.U.D. and an Ex-Marine for Veterans Affairs; Defender of the Rights of Veterans Masters Thickets of Regulations". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
19. Stout, David (February 7, 1997). "Senate Easily Confirms Slater As Transportation Secretary". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
20. "Alexis M. Herman". United States Department of Labor. Archived from the original on 2008-11-05. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
21. Rosenbaum, David E. (December 21, 1996). "Clinton Fills Cabinet After Scramble to Diversify". The New York Times. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
22. Roberts, Sam (March 13, 2018). "Togo West Jr., 75, Dies; Army Secretary in Time of Transition". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 28, 2018. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
23. Anderson, Nick (January 21, 2001). "Senate Gives Quick Approval to 7 Bush Cabinet Appointees". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
24. Schemo, Diana Jean (November 12, 2004). "Education Secretary Plans to Resign". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2009.
25. Neuman, Joanna (April 1, 2008). "Housing secretary resigns". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 3, 2020. Retrieved April 12, 2008.
26. Schweid, Barry (January 26, 2005). "Rice Is Confirmed Despite Opposition". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2009.
27. Lewis, Neil A. (February 2, 2009). "Holder Is Confirmed as Attorney General". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
28. Boles, Corey (June 28, 2013). "Foxx Cleared for Transportation Post". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
29. Saenz, Arlette (December 17, 2013). "Senate Confirms Jeh Johnson as DHS Secretary". ABC News. Archived from the original on October 23, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
30. DeBonis, Mike (April 23, 2015). "Loretta Lynch confirmed by Senate as attorney general". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 13, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
31. Resmovits, Joy (March 20, 2016). "New Education Secretary John B. King Jr. knows the value of a second chance". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 21, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
32. Woellert, Lorraine (March 2, 2017). "Ben Carson Is Confirmed as HUD Secretary". Politico. Archived from the original on March 13, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
33. Edmondson, Catie (January 22, 2021). "Lloyd Austin is confirmed, becoming the first Black defense secretary in U.S. history". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
34. Stracqualursi, Veronica (March 10, 2021). "Senate confirms Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge as HUD secretary". CNN. Archived from the original on March 12, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
35. "The United States Postal Service — An American History 1775–2002" (PDF). United States Postal Service. September 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-19. Retrieved November 13, 2008.
36. "Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense". National Archives and Records Administration. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2008.
37. "Secretaries of the Navy". Department of the Navy. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved November 16, 2008.
38. "General Records of the Department of Commerce". National Archives and Records Administration. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2008.
39. Lelyveld, Joseph (February 6, 1977). "Our new voice at the U.N." The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
40. Teltsch, Kathleen (September 1, 1979). "M'HENRY APPOINTED TO YYOUNG'S U.N. JOB". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
41. Hebert, H. Josef (January 23, 2009). "Jackson confirmed for EPA". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Associated Press. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
42. "U.S. Senate confirms Rice as U.N. ambassador". Reuters. January 23, 2009. Archived from the original on July 13, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2009.
43. Palmer, Doug (March 18, 2009). "Senate approves Kirk as U.S. trade representative". Reuters. Archived from the original on May 16, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
44. Lee, Matthew (February 24, 2021). "Senate confirms Linda Thomas-Greenfield as UN ambassador". Associated Press. Archived from the original on July 13, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
45. Stark, Liz (March 10, 2021). "Senate confirms Michael Regan as head of Environmental Protection Agency". CNN. Archived from the original on March 16, 2021. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
46. Tankersley, Jim (March 2, 2021). "Senate confirms Cecilia Rouse as the first Black chair of White House economic council". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 5, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
47. Sullivan, Kate; Zaslav, Ali (March 15, 2022). "Shalanda Young becomes first Black woman to lead White House budget office following Senate confirmation". CNN. Archived from the original on March 18, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.

External links

• The Cabinet Archived 2022-11-10 at the Wayback Machine - Provided by the White House. Retrieved 24 January 2016.