Gov. Wolf Highlights Administration-Long Commitment to Job Creation, Announces Life Sciences Company ElevateBio Creating 172 High-Paying Jobs in Pittsburgh (52311427515).jpg Photo by Governor Tom Wolf from Harrisburg, PA – Wikimedia Commons
20 Most Famous African American Politicians
For a long time, African American men and women were told that having a seat in the government would be an impossible task. Some believed but most of them decided to stand up and prove society wrong by serving the country. This article features some of those destiny changers politicians in American history.
Read more about other famous African Leaders here.
1. Alma Adams
Alma Adams official portrait.jpg Photo by United States Congress – Wikimedia Commons
Alma Shealey Adams was born on May 27, 1946. She is an American politician who represented North Carolina’s 12th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. Alma represented the state’s 58th House district in Guilford in the North Carolina General Assembly from her appointment in April 1994 until her election to Congress.
Alma won the 2014 special election in North Carolina’s 12th congressional district to fill the vacancy of Mel Watt. She became the 100th woman serving in the 113th Congress. At the same time, she won an election to a full two-year term. Aside from politics, she and Eva Hamlin Miller co-founded the African American Atelier in 1990.
Read more about other famous African Women Leaders here.
2. Archie Alexander
Archie Alexander.jpg Photo by Smith, Roger, photographer – Wikimedia Commons
Archibald Alphonso Alexander was born on May 14, 1888. He was an American architect, politician, and engineer. He began his political career in 1932 when he served as the assistant chairman of the Iowa Republican State Committee. In 1925, Archie obtained his civil engineering degree from Iowa State University.
In 1954, Archie was appointed Governor of the United States Virgin Islands by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Archie was noted as the first Republican governor there since the establishment of the civil government. To honor him, The Archie Alphonso Alexander papers are held at the University of Iowa Special Collections & University Archives.
3. Aerion Abney
Gov. Wolf Highlights Administration-Long Commitment to Job Creation, Announces Life Sciences Company ElevateBio Creating 172 High-Paying Jobs in Pittsburgh (52311427515).jpg Photo by Governor Tom Wolf from Harrisburg, PA – Wikimedia Commons
Aerion Andrew Abney is an American politician who serves in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2022. He is a member of the Democratic Party and represents the 19th district which contains parts of Pittsburgh. Aerion was a social worker and community activist before the election.
Aerion ran unsuccessfully to unseat incumbent state representative Jake Wheatley. When Jake resigned in 2022 to become of staff to Pittsburgh’s newly-elected mayor Ed Gainey. Aerion won the special election to succeed him.
4. Ako Abdul-Samad
Representative Ako Abdul-Samad (D), State of Iowa.jpg Photo by State of Iowa – Wikimedia Commons
Ako Adul-Samd was born July 25, 1951. He is the Iowa State Representative from the 34th District. Ako has served in the Iowa House of Representatives since 2007. He was previously a member of the Des Moines school board. Ako is the founder and CEO of Creative Visions Human Development Institute which is a nonprofit organization in Des Moines.
Since May 2013, he has served on the Iowa House Administration and Public Safety committees. He also serves on the Health and Human Services Committee of the Midwestern Legislative Conference of the Council of State Governments. Ako is also the founder and president of the African-American Islamic Association.
5. Angela Alsobrooks
WLB 1649 (49452363543) (1).jpg Photo by Edward Kimmel from Takoma Park, MD – Wikimedia Commons
Angela Deneece Alsobrooks was born on February 23, 1971. She is an American lawyer and politician and member of the Democratic Party, she was elected county executive of Prince George’s County, Maryland in 2018 after serving two terms as state’s attorney for the county. Angela was first elected Prince George’s state’s attorney in 2010 and subsequently re-elected in 2014.
During her time in office, she sought and secured funding to increase the number of attorneys in the office and increased conviction rates. Angela also worked with California Attorney General Kamala Harris to implement a program to reduce recidivism in Prince George’s County which mirrored a similar program Kamala introduced in California.
Click here to read more about other famous African American Leaders.
6. Barack Obama
President Barack Obama.jpg Photo by Official White House Photo by Pete Souza – Wikimedia Commons
He was the 44th President of the United States of America. He was the first Black American to be President of America and occupy the White House in Washington D.C. and the only president born outside the contiguous 48 states. He was born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father Barack Obama Sr. originated from Kenya, East Africa, Kenya, a place called Nyang’oma Kogelo in Rachuonyo, Nyanza County. His mother was an American called Ann Dunham. He was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1996. On January 20, 2009, Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States. He was voted under the Democratic Party ticket in the most contented election in the history of the United States of America. His opponent the Republican candidate was Hillary Clinton. When he was elected President, he announced that he selected Joe Biden, the then Delaware Senator as his Vice President on August 23, 2008.
7. Carol Ammons
2012 NRC Leadership Potential Program Graduation Class (8093792043).jpg Photo by Nuclear Regulatory Commission from US – Wikimedia Commons
Carol Ammons is a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives who has represented the 103rd district since January 2015. Carol is the first African American woman to serve in the seat and is the first from Champaign County to be elected at the County Board level. Carol is a co-chair of the Illinois House’s Progressive Caucus.
Carol is also an active member of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus and in early 2023 was named Joint Chair of the caucus. In the 2016 United States presidential election, Carol served as a presidential elector from Illinois.
8. Calvin Ball III
Calvin B. Ball, III, 2012.jpg Photo by Timothy.h.lim – Wikimedia Commons
Calvin B. Ball III was born on September 2, 1975. He is an American Democratic politician who serves as the county executive of Howard County, Maryland. He is the first African-American to hold this office. In 2017, he announced his candidacy for County Executive for the 2018 election. On November 7, 2018, he defeated Republican Allan Kittleman and was sworn in as the New County Executive on December 3, 2018.
Before his County Executive position, he served as a Council Member of the 2nd District of Howard County, Maryland from April 2006 through December 2018. Calvin is noted for being the youngest Chairperson ever to lead the County Council serving approximately 50,000 constituents.
Calvin also served on the executive board of the Maryland Association of Counties as a treasurer. As a council member, he founded the Diversity caucus which is the first statewide caucus for County elected officials of color. The Maryland Association of Counties is a non-profit and non-partisan organization that serves Maryland’s 23 counties and Baltimore City.
9. Curt Anderson
Curt Anderson (May 2007).jpg Photo by Marylandstate – Wikimedia Commons
Curt Stovall Anderson was born on October 12, 1949. He is an American politician, lawyer, and former broadcast journalist. Curtis was first elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1983. He was the chairman of the Baltimore City Delegation and past chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland.
In 1982, Curt won a seat in the House of Delegates. He was sworn in in January 1983 and assigned to the House Ways and Means committee. After he served five years in the Maryland General Assembly, he was elected chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland. While he served as chairman, he sponsored and saw the passage of Maryland’s Minority Business Enterprise Act.
Curt served for 12 years before he was elected again in 2002 and served until his retirement in 2023. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1992 and 2008.
10. Dorothy Bailey
Dorothy F. Bailey is a Prince George’s County, Maryland civic leader. She served on the county council for eight years after serving two terms as chairman. Dorothy also served on the boards of many national and local organizations which include the National Council of Negro Women and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.
Dorothy established the county’s Harlem Renaissance Festival which was held annually since 1999 and founded several community organizations. She was later inducted into the Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame in 2014. Dorothy was honored with the NAACP Image Award for Political Activism in 199 and the National Council of Negro Women’s Bethune Recognition Award.
Click here to read more about other famous African American Leaders.
11. Frank Anderson
Frank J. Anderson was an American politician who served as sheriff of Marion County, Indiana from 2003 until 2011. He was the first black individual to serve in that post and the second black Sheriff in Indiana after Oatess E. Archey who was elected sheriff of Grant County, Indiana in 1998 and re-elected to another four-year term in 2002.
In 2010, he attempted to defeat James W. Merritt for the 31st District seat in the Indiana State Senate but was unsuccessful. After his defeat in the 2010 Indiana State Senate election, he was retained as a paid consultant for his successor as Marion County Sheriff, John R. Layton.
12. Frank Ballance
Frank Ballance.jpg Photo by U.S. Congress – Wikimedia Commons
Frank Winston Ballance Jr. was born on February 15, 1942. He was an American politician and attorney who was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 2003 to 2004. He represented North Carolina’s 1st congressional district.
Frank was first elected to the House of the state legislature in 1983 and served until 1986. In 1988, he served as chair of the Guilford County chapter of the NAACP. Frank also served in the state senate until 2002 and was later appointed to the Board of Trustees for both North Carolina Central University and Elizabeth City State University.
Frank ran and was elected to the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina’s 1st congressional district in 2002. After his election to Congress, Frank served as the president of the 108th Congress’s Democratic freshman class. Frank later served on the House Agriculture Committee and the House Small Business Committee.
13. John Bagneris
John H. Bagneris is an American politician from New Orleans, Louisiana. He represented District 100 in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 2016 until 2020. In the first round of voting, he advanced with 37% of the vote and defeated Alicia Pilve Clivers with 55% of the vote in the run-off.
Later in 2019, he announced that he would run to succeed term-limited Democratic Senator Jean-Paul Morrell for District 3 in the Louisiana State Senate.
14. Ken Blackwell
Ken Blackwell (5448981869).jpg Photo by Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America – Wikimedia Commons
John Kenneth Blackwell was born on February 28, 1948. He is an American politician, author, and conservative activist who served as the mayor f Cincinnati, Ohio from 1979 to 1980, the Ohio State Trearure from 1994 to 1999, and the Ohio Secretary of State from 1999 to 2007. Ken was the Republican candidate for governor of Ohio in 2006, he was noted as the first African-American major-party candidate for governor of Ohio.
Ken is currently a Senior Fellow for Family Empowerment with the Family Research Council. In 2000, Ken was the national chairman of Steve Forbes’ presidential campaign. Later in 2011, the National Federation of Republican Assemblies elected Ken their Executive Vice President as their Des Moines, Iowa Presidential Preference Convention. He was re-elected in September 2013.
15. Lamont Bagby
Lamont Bagby was born on December 21, 1976. He is an American of the Democratic Party. On November 3, 2015, Lamont was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates representing the 74th district which included Charles City County and parts of Henrico County, and the city of Richmond.
Lamont served as Chair of the bicameral Virginia Legislative Black Caucus. It is an organization which is dedicated to improving the economic, educational, Social, and political conditions of African American and other underrepresented groups in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
He is also a former member of the Henrico County School Board. Lamont was named to the top 40 Extraordinary leaders under 40 list in Richmond alternative newspaper Style Weekly in 2009.
16. Park Cannon
Park Elizabeth Cannon was born on June 6, 1991. She is an American politician from the state of Georgia. Park is a member of the Georgia House of Representatives and represents the 58th district and is a member of the Democratic Party.
In 2020, Park applied to the Democratic Party of Georgia to succeed the late John Lewis ad the Democratic nominee for Georgia’s 5th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives in the November election. Park was one of the party’s final five candidates out of 131 applicants, however, the committee chose Nikema Williams who was the Georgia state senator and state Democratic party chair.
17. Ras Baraka
Ras J. Baraka (1).jpg PHoto by Montclair Film Festival – Wikimedia Commons
Ras Jua Baraka was born on April 9, 1970. He is an American educator, author, and politician who is the 40th and current Mayor of Newark, New Jersey. He was previously a member of the Municipal Council of Newark. Ras ran for the 2014 Newark mayoral election which he won on May 13, 2014.
He was sworn in as the City’s 4oth mayor at ceremonies at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center on July 1, 2014, for a four-year term. He won re-election twice in 2018 and 2022. In 2014, Ras initiated a program called Model Neighborhoods which intended to take a comprehensive approach to address the factors that caused troubled neighborhoods.
18. Simone Bell
Simone Bell is a community organizer and former politician from Atlanta, Georgia. She was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in December 2009 from the state’s 58th district in DeKalb and Fulton counties. The district lies in eastern Atlanta and includes the following neighborhoods, East Atlanta, Cabbagetown, Reynoldstown, Edgewood, Gresham Park, Grant Park, Kirkwood, Ormewood Park, and Boulevard Heights.
Simone is noted as the first African-American lesbian to serve in a U.S. state legislature. On October 29, 2015, Simone announced her resignation from office to join Lambda Legal as Southern Regional Director. However, her resignation took effect on November 13, 2015, when she was succeeded by Park Cannon.
19. Wendy Brawley
Wendy C. Brawley is an American politician. She is a former member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from the 60th District. Wendy is a member of the Democratic party and has been serving since 2017. She was defeated by Democrat Jermaine Johnson in the 2022 Democratic primary election.
In January 2020, Wendy endorsed Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts for the Presidency of the United States. In May 2022, Wensy sponsored a bill that would stop schools from sending lunch debts to collection agencies. The bill was passed unanimously in South Carolina House and Senate.
20. William A. Bell
William A. Bell (1).jpg Photo by Ralph Daily, Birmingham, Alabama – Wikimedia Commons
William A. Bell Sr. was born on June 1, 1949. He is an American politician who served as the 33rd mayor of Birmingham, Alabama from 2010 to 2017. William had previously served several terms on the Birmingham city council. William is a member of the Democratic Party.
In 1985, William was noted as the first African-American elected to serve as council president. As mayor, he led the development of the Birmingham Sports Crossplex and over $300 million dollars in capital improvements for the Birmingham City School System. Before he left office in 2017, William grew the city of Birmingham reserves to over $350 million dollars.
Read more about other famous African Leaders here.
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