List of African-American United States Cabinet Secretaries

The Cabinet of the United States has had 23 African-American appointed officers. 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, African 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]

Colin Powell (left) and Condoleezza Rice (right) are the highest-ranking African Americans in the history of the Cabinet, having held the post of Secretary of State, the most senior cabinet position.

Robert C. Weaver became the first African American to hold a Cabinet position when he was appointed Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in 1966 by President Lyndon B. Johnson.[4] Patricia Roberts Harris became the first African-American female cabinet member when she was appointed the same position in 1977. In 1979, Harris became the first African American to be head of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, which was split into the departments of Education and Health and Human Services the next year.[5] The appointments of Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State made them the highest-ranking African Americans in the United States presidential line of succession at that time.[6] On January 20, 2021, Kamala Harris became the highest-ranking African American person in the line of succession when she was inaugurated as Vice President.[7]

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has had the most African-American Secretaries, with five. The Department of Transportation has had three. The departments of Education, Health and Human Services, Justice, State, and Veterans Affairs have each had two. The departments of Homeland Security, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Defense, and Energy has each had one. The two existing departments of Interior and Treasury have not had African-American Secretaries. President Bill Clinton has appointed the most African Americans to the Cabinet during his tenure, with a total of seven.

African-American Secretaries

Current departments
Robert C. Weaver was the first African American to hold a Cabinet position.
Patricia Roberts Harris was the first African-American woman to serve in the Cabinet.

Numerical order represents the seniority of the Secretaries in the United States presidential line of succession.

 *  denotes the first African-American secretary of that particular department
# Secretary Position Year
appointed		 Party Administration Ref.
1 Colin Powell* Secretary of State 2001 Republican George W. Bush [6][8]
1 Condoleezza Rice Secretary of State 2005 Republican George W. Bush [9]
2 — [a]Secretary of the Treasury — [a] — [a] — [a] —
3 Lloyd Austin* Secretary of Defense 2021 Democratic Joe Biden [10]
4 Eric Holder* Attorney General 2009 Democratic Barack Obama [11]
4 Loretta Lynch Attorney General 2015 Democratic Barack Obama [12]
5 — [b]Secretary of the Interior — [b] — [b] — [b] —
6 Mike Espy* Secretary of Agriculture 1993 Democratic Bill Clinton [13]
7 Ron Brown* Secretary of Commerce 1993 Democratic Bill Clinton [14]
8 Alexis Herman* Secretary of Labor 1997 Democratic Bill Clinton [15][16]
9 Patricia Roberts Harris* Secretary of Health and Human Services 1980 Democratic Jimmy Carter [5][17]
9 Louis Wade Sullivan Secretary of Health and Human Services 1989 Republican George H. W. Bush [18]
10 Robert C. Weaver* Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 1966 Democratic Lyndon B. Johnson [4]
10 Patricia Roberts Harris Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 1977 Democratic Jimmy Carter [5][17]
10 Samuel Pierce Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 1981 Republican Ronald Reagan [19][20][21]
10 Alphonso Jackson Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 2004 Republican George W. Bush [22][23]
10 Ben Carson Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 2017 Republican Donald Trump [24]
11 William Thaddeus Coleman Jr.* Secretary of Transportation 1975 Republican Gerald Ford [25]
11 Rodney E. Slater Secretary of Transportation 1997 Democratic Bill Clinton [16][26]
11 Anthony Foxx Secretary of Transportation 2013 Democratic Barack Obama [27]
12 Hazel R. O'Leary* Secretary of Energy 1993 Democratic Bill Clinton [28]
13 Rod Paige* Secretary of Education 2001 Republican George W. Bush [29]
13 John King Jr. Secretary of Education 2016 Democratic Barack Obama [30]
14 Jesse Brown* Secretary of Veterans Affairs 1993 Democratic Bill Clinton [31]
14 Togo D. West Jr. Secretary of Veterans Affairs 1998 Democratic Bill Clinton [32]
15 Jeh Johnson* Secretary of Homeland Security 2013 Democratic Barack Obama [33]

African-American Nominees for Cabinet Secretaries and Cabinet-Level Positions

Nominees for Cabinet Secretaries
Nominee Position Announced Party Incoming Administration Ref.
Marcia Fudge Secretary of Housing and Urban Development December 10, 2020 Democratic Joe Biden [34]
Nominees for Cabinet-Level Positions
Nominee Position Announced Party Incoming Administration Ref.
Michael S. Regan Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency December 17, 2020 Democratic Joe Biden [35]
Linda Thomas-Greenfield U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations November 23, 2020 [36]
Cecilia Rouse* Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers November 30, 2020 [37]

Defunct departments

The departments are listed in order of their establishment (earliest first).

 *  denotes the first African-American secretary of that particular department
# Secretary Position Year
appointed		 Party Administration Ref.
1 — [d]Postmaster General — [d] — [d] — [d] —
2 — [e]Secretary of the Navy — [e] — [e] — [e] —
3 — [f]Secretary of War — [f] — [f] — [f] —
4 — [g]Secretary of Commerce and Labor — [g] — [g] — [g] —
5 Patricia Roberts Harris* Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare 1979 Democratic Jimmy Carter [5][17]

See also

Notes
  • a The Department of the Treasury was established in 1789; no African American has yet served as Secretary.[38]
  • b The Department of the Interior was established in 1849; no African American has yet served as Secretary.[39]
  • d 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 1970 Postal Reorganization Act. No African American had ever served while it was a Cabinet post.[40]
  • e The Secretary of the Navy ceased to be a member 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 it was a Cabinet post.[41][42]
  • f The position of 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.[41]
  • g The position of 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.[43]

References
  1. "The Black Population: 2010" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  2. "Time Line of African American History, 1881–1900". Library of Congress. Retrieved October 22, 2007.
  3. "Transcript of Civil Rights Act (1964)". Retrieved February 8, 2009.
  4. "HUD Headquarters Building Renamed to Honor Robert C. Weaver – First HUD Secretary and First African American Cabinet Member". United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Retrieved February 21, 2009.
  5. "Patricia Roberts Harris Biography (1924–1985)". 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-08-07. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
  6. Sanger, David E. "Colin L. Powell". The New York Times. Retrieved February 8, 2009.
  7. Schaff, Erin (November 7, 2020). "Kamala Harris Makes History as First Woman and Woman of Color as Vice President". The New York Times. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  8. "The first African American secretary of state Colin Powell". African American Registry. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
  9. "Condoleezza Rice". White House. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
  10. "The Cabinet". White House. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  11. Lewis, Neil A. (February 2, 2009). "Holder Is Confirmed as Attorney General". The New York Times. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
  12. Tucker, Eric (April 27, 2015). "Loretta Lynch Sworn in as New US Attorney General". The Washington Post. The Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 28, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
  13. "About Mike Espy". Retrieved November 8, 2008.
  14. "Air Force Releases Brown Crash Investigation Report". United States Department of Defense. June 13, 1996. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
  15. "Alexis M. Herman". United States Department of Labor. Archived from the original on 2008-11-05. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
  16. Rosenbaum, David E. (December 21, 1996). "Clinton Fills Cabinet After Scramble to Diversify". The New York Times. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
  17. Bunch, Lonnie. "A Higher Standard: Patricia Roberts Harris". A Page From Our American Story. National Museum of African American History and Culture. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  18. Smothers, Ronald (December 23, 1988). "New Faces for 4 Cabinet Posts and the Top Environmental Job; Dr. Louis Wade Sullivan, Secretary of Health and Human Services". The New York Times. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
  19. "Samuel Pierce, Jr., Reagan Cabinet Member". African American Registry. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
  20. "Samuel Pierce (1981–1989): Secretary of Housing and Urban Development". University of Virginia. Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
  21. "Sam Pierce Takes the Fifth". The New York Times. September 28, 1989. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
  22. "The Honorable Alphonso Jackson Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development" (PDF). Department of Housing and Urban Development. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
  23. Neuman, Johanna (April 1, 2008). "HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson steps down". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
  24. Alcindor, Yamiche (March 2, 2017). "Ben Carson Is Confirmed as HUD Secretary". New York Times. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  25. "William T. Coleman, Jr". Department of Transportation News. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
  26. "Rodney Slater". Forbes. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  27. Harrison, Steve; Tate, Curtis; Thibodeaux, Kevin (June 28, 2013). "Cabinet Post Caps Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx's Steep Ascent". The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on November 2, 2013. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
  28. "President Hazel R. O'Leary Honored by Urban League". Fisk University. August 15, 2005. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
  29. "NOW Transcript". Public Broadcasting Service. October 17, 2003. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
  30. "John B. King, Jr., Secretary of Education—Biography". U.S. Department of Education. March 18, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  31. 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. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
  32. "Namesake: Secretary Togo West". Alpha Phi Omega at Virginia Commonwealth University. Archived from the original on 2005-02-09. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
  33. "Secretary Jeh Johnson". About Homeland Security. United States Department of Homeland Security. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  34. "Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development". President-Elect Joe Biden. Retrieved 2020-12-24.
  35. "Michael Regan, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator". President-Elect Joe Biden. Retrieved 2020-12-24.
  36. "Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations". President-Elect Joe Biden. Retrieved 2020-12-24.
  37. "Cecilia Rouse, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers". President-Elect Joe Biden. Retrieved 2020-12-24.
  38. "History of the Treasury: Secretaries of the Treasury". United States Department of the Treasury. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  39. "Past Secretaries of Interior". United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
  40. "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.
  41. "Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved November 15, 2008.
  42. "Secretaries of the Navy". Department of the Navy. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved November 16, 2008.
  43. "General Records of the Department of Commerce". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved November 15, 2008.
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