In 2010, retired lieutenant colonel Allen West became the first black Republican to represent Florida in Congress since Rep. Josiah T. Walls, who served during Reconstruction. Congressman West was born on February 7, 1961 in Atlanta, Georgia to Herman and Elizabeth West. His father was … Read MoreAllen West (1961- )
Earl Hilliard, lawyer, politician, and United States Representative from Alabama’s Seventh Congressional District (1993-2003), was born in Birmingham, Alabama to parents Iola Frazier and William Hilliard in 1942. Growing up in a segregated neighborhood Hilliard graduated from Western-Olin High School in 1960 and then attended … Read MoreEarl Hilliard (1942- )
Cleo Fields, politician, lawyer, and United States Representative from Louisiana’s Fourth Congressional District (1993-97), was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on November 22, 1962. At four years old, Fields lost his father, Isidore Fields, a dockworker, in a car crash. His mother, Alice Fields, supported … Read MoreCleo Fields (1962- )
William J. Jefferson is a former Democratic politician who represented Louisiana’s Second Congressional District from 1991 to 2009. He was the first African American congressman elected from the state since Reconstruction. His career ended in a bribery scandal that resulted in his conviction in November … Read MoreWilliam J. Jefferson (1947- )
John Willis Menard, abolitionist, author, journalist and politician, was born in 1838 in Kaskaskia, Illinois, to French Creole parents. He was the first African American elected to Congress, but was not seated after a dispute over the election results. Menard attended Iberia College, an abolitionist … Read MoreJohn Willis Menard (1838-1893)
Julia May Porter Carson, one of the first African American women to represent Indiana in Congress, was born Julia May Porter on July 8, 1938. She was born in Louisville, Kentucky, but in her early childhood she moved with her mother to Indianapolis, Indiana, where … Read MoreJulia May Porter Carson (1938-2007)
Alexander “Al” Green, Congressional representative of the 9th District of Houston, Texas and long time civil rights advocate, was born on 1st September 1947. Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, Green attended Florida A&M University in 1971 and later Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University). … Read MoreAlexander “Al” Green (1947 – )
Bennie G. Thompson, United States Representative from Mississippi’s Second Congressional District, is the chair of the House Homeland Security Committee and as such is one of the most influential African American members of Congress. Thompson was born in Bolton, Mississippi on January 28, 1948 to … Read MoreBennie G. Thompson (1948- )
Elected to Congress in 2008, Donna Edwards was a Democratic member of U.S. House of Representatives, representing the 4th Congressional District of Maryland. Donna Edwards was born on June 28, 1958 in Yanceyville, North Carolina. Her father served in the U.S. Air Force, so Edwards … Read MoreDonna F. Edwards (1958- )
Former Alabama Congressman Artur Genestre Davis was born on October 9, 1967 in Montgomery, Alabama. He was raised by his mother and grandmother and graduated from Jefferson Davis High School in Montgomery in 1986. He received his degree Magna Cum Laude from Harvard University in … Read MoreArtur Davis (1967- )
