List of African-American United States Cabinet members facts for kids

Kamala Harris is the highest-ranking African American to serve in a Cabinet as Vice President of the United States.

Colin Powell (left) and Condoleezza Rice (right) are the highest-ranking African Americans 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. 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. 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.

Robert C. Weaver became the first African-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. 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, thus making her the first African-American to hold two different cabinet positions.

On January 20, 2001, Colin Powell assumed the post of secretary of state under President George W. Bush, which made him the highest-ranked African-American among cabinet secretaries to enter the presidential line of succession, standing fourth. Condoleezza Rice took over the same position in 2005, during Bush's second term, making her the highest-placed Black woman 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 African-American vice president on January 20, 2021, alongside President Joe Biden.

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.

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 Treasury are the only existing executive departments that have not yet had African-American secretaries.

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

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	Term start	Term end	Party		Administration(s)
1		Weaver, Robert C.Robert C. Weaver*	Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	13	January 18, 1966	December 18, 1968		Democratic	Johnson
2		Coleman, WilliamWilliam Coleman*	Secretary of Transportation	14	March 7, 1975	January 20, 1977		Republican	Ford
3		Harris, PatriciaPatricia Harris	Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	13	January 23, 1977	September 10, 1979		Democratic	Carter
Secretary of Health and Human Services			12	August 3, 1979	January 20, 1981
4		Pierce, SamuelSamuel Pierce	Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	13	January 23, 1981	January 20, 1989		Republican	Reagan
5		Sullivan, Louis W.Louis W. Sullivan	Secretary of Health and Human Services	12	March 1, 1989	January 20, 1993			George H. W. Bush
6		Espy, MikeMike Espy*	Secretary of Agriculture	9	January 22, 1993	December 31, 1994		Democratic	Clinton
6		Brown, RonRon Brown*	Secretary of Commerce	10	January 22, 1993	April 3, 1996
6		O'Leary, Hazel R.Hazel R. O'Leary*	Secretary of Energy	15	January 22, 1993	January 20, 1997
6		Brown, JesseJesse Brown*	Secretary of Veterans Affairs	17	January 22, 1993	July 13, 1997
10		Slater, Rodney E.Rodney E. Slater	Secretary of Transportation	14	February 14, 1997	January 20, 2001
11		Herman, AlexisAlexis Herman*	Secretary of Labor	11	May 1, 1997	January 20, 2001
12		West, Togo D.Togo D. West	Secretary of Veterans Affairs	17	May 4, 1998	July 25, 2000
13		Powell, ColinColin Powell*	Secretary of State	4	January 20, 2001	January 26, 2005		Republican	George W. Bush
13		Paige, RodRod Paige*	Secretary of Education	16	January 20, 2001	January 20, 2005
15		Jackson, AlphonsoAlphonso Jackson	Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	13	August 31, 2004	April 18, 2008
16		Rice, CondoleezzaCondoleezza Rice	Secretary of State	4	January 26, 2005	January 20, 2009
17		Holder, EricEric Holder*	Attorney General	7	February 3, 2009	April 27, 2015		Democratic	Obama
18		Foxx, AnthonyAnthony Foxx	Secretary of Transportation	14	July 2, 2013	January 20, 2017
19		Johnson, JehJeh Johnson*	Secretary of Homeland Security	18	December 23, 2013	January 20, 2017
20		Lynch, LorettaLoretta Lynch	Attorney General	7	April 27, 2015	January 20, 2017
21		King, JohnJohn King	Secretary of Education	16	January 1, 2016	January 20, 2017
22		Carson, BenBen Carson	Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	13	March 2, 2017	January 20, 2021		Republican	Trump
23		Harris, KamalaKamala Harris*	Vice President	1	January 20, 2021	Incumbent		Democratic	Biden
24		Austin, LloydLloyd Austin*	Secretary of Defense	6	January 22, 2021	Incumbent
25		Fudge, MarciaMarcia Fudge	Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	13	March 10, 2021	Incumbent

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.
• The Secretaries of the Navy, of the Air Force, and of the 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.
• 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.
• 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.

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)
1		Young, AndrewAndrew Young*	United States Ambassador to the United Nations	January 30, 1977	September 23, 1979		Democratic	Carter
2		McHenry, DonaldDonald McHenry	United States Ambassador to the United Nations	September 23, 1979	January 20, 1981
3		Raines, FranklinFranklin Raines*	Director of the Office of Management and Budget	April 13, 1996	May 21, 1998			Clinton
4		Jackson, Lisa P.Lisa P. Jackson*	Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency	January 23, 2009	February 19, 2013			Obama
5		Rice, SusanSusan Rice	United States Ambassador to the United Nations	January 26, 2009	June 30, 2013
6		Kirk, RonRon Kirk*	United States Trade Representative	March 18, 2009	March 15, 2013
7		Thomas-Greenfield, LindaLinda Thomas-Greenfield	United States Ambassador to the United Nations	February 25, 2021	Incumbent			Biden
8		Regan, Michael S.Michael S. Regan	Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency	March 11, 2021	Incumbent
9		Rouse, CeciliaCecilia Rouse*	Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers	March 12, 2021	March 31, 2023
10		Young, ShalandaShalanda Young	Director of the Office of Management and Budget	March 17, 2022	Incumbent

See also

• African Americans in the United States Congress
  • List of African-American United States senators
  • List of African-American United States representatives
• List of first African-American mayors
• Black Cabinet
• List of female United States Cabinet members
• List of foreign-born United States Cabinet members
• List of Hispanic and Latino American United States Cabinet members
• List of minority governors and lieutenant governors in the United States