John Leerdam is an Afro-Dutch politician and theater director. Leerdam was born to African-descended parents on July 23, 1961 in the capital city of Willemstad, Curacao, an island dependency of the Netherlands in the southern Caribbean Sea. His father, John Arnold Walther Julius Leerdam was … Read MoreJohn Leerdam (1961- )
Robert George Clark Jr. was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1967. He was the first African American elected to the Mississippi State Legislature since the Reconstruction era and remained in office until 2003, making him the longest-serving state representative in the United States. Clark was born October 3, 1928 to … Read MoreRobert G. Clark Jr. (1928- )
The second person of African descent to be elected to the lower house of Poland’s Parliament (called Sejm) was Killion M. Munyama, born the son of farmers July 10, 1961 in Monze, Zambia. A scholarship allowed him to travel to Poland in 1981 to learn the language and study … Read MoreKillion Munzele Munyama (1961- )
James W. Mason of Chicot County, Arkansas, was the first documented African American postmaster in the United States. Mason also served as a delegate to the 1868 Arkansas Constitutional Convention and as a state senator. James Mason was born in Chicot County, Arkansas, in 1841. … Read MoreJames W. Mason (1841–1874)
Politician and immigrant and women’s rights advocate Mercedes Lourdes Frias was born in the municipality of San Antonio de Guerra, Dominican Republic, on October 28, 1962. The daughter of a stevedore and a washerwoman, she earned her degree in geography at the Autonomous University of … Read MoreMercedes Frias (1962- )
Peggy Joan Maxie was the first black woman elected to public office in Washington State. She served as Washington State Representative, position no. 2 in the 37th Legislative District in Seattle, from 1971 through 1982. Maxie was born August 18, 1936, in Amarillo, Texas to … Read MorePeggy Joan Maxie (1936-2024)
Eric Pettigrew is the former Washington State Representative for the 37th Legislative District representing Southeast Seattle, Washington and its suburbs. Representative Pettigrew grew up in South Central Los Angeles. After graduating from Nogales High School in the City of Industry, California, he enrolled in Oregon … Read MoreEric Pettigrew (1960- )
Rosa Franklin is the first black woman elected to the Washington State Senate, serving the 29th Legislative District in the Tacoma area. She is also a registered nurse who retired after 42 years in health care. Franklin was born Rosa Guidrion on April 6, 1927, … Read MoreRosa Franklin (1927- )
Walter Moses Burton holds the distinction of being the first black elected sheriff in the United States. Burton was also a State Senator in Texas. Burton was brought to Fort Bend County, Texas as a slave from North Carolina in 1850 at the age of twenty-one. … Read MoreWalter Moses Burton (1829?-1913)
Frederick Madison Roberts was born in Chillicothe, Ohio. He arrived in Los Angeles at age six and was the first black to graduate from Los Angeles High School. He attended the University of Southern California, majored in pre-law and graduated from Colorado College, and finished … Read MoreFrederick M. Roberts (1879-1952)
