Abraham Galloway, freedom-fighter, spy, abolitionist, and politician, is an unsung hero of American history. Galloway was born a slave on February 8, 1837 in Smithville (now Southport), North Carolina, the son of an enslaved woman and a white boatman. Little is known about his youth, … Read MoreAbraham Galloway (1837-1870)
Henry E. Hayne was the first African American to serve as the South Carolina Secretary of State. He held that post from 1872 to 1877. Hayne was born into slavery on December 30, 1840 (estimated date), in Charleston, South Carolina to an enslaved mixed-raced mother … Read MoreHenry E. Hayne (ca. 1840-unknown)
Hannibal Caesar Carter, the second African American to serve as Secretary of State in Mississippi, was born on February 11, 1835, in New Albany, Indiana. Though he spent his early childhood in Toronto, Canada, Carter received a common school education in New Albany. When he … Read MoreHannibal Caesar Carter (1835-1904)
James “Jim” Hill was born into slavery in the late 1830s on the J. Hill Salem Road Plantation in Marshall County, Mississippi. He was a leader of the Reconstruction Era Republican Party, chairman of the Republican state executive committee, and national committeeman of the Republican … Read MoreJames Hill (1837?-1903)
Francis Lewis Cardozo was a minister, educator, and politician, who was born free in Charleston, South Carolina, on February 1, 1836. Cardozo was of mixed ancestry, as his father, Isaac Nunez Cardozo, was a Sephardic Jew, and his mother, Lydia Williams Weston, was a free … Read MoreFrancis Cardozo (1836-1903)
Lonna Romaine Hooks is an attorney and the first Black secretary of state for New Jersey. Hooks was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. Her father was head of the art department at Fisk University, and the Hooks family lived on campus. While attending her … Read MoreLonna Hooks (1959- )
Mark Keith Robinson is the current Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina (NC) and the first African American to hold that position in the state’s history. His public involvement in politics began in 2018, just two years before he was elected to the second highest post … Read MoreMark Robinson (1968- )
Clarence Burgess Owens is one of only two African American Republicans currently serving as a congressional representative in the U.S. Congress (along with Byron Donalds, R-FL), and the only African American Republican in the Utah congressional delegation. Born on August 2, 1951, in Columbus, Ohio, … Read MoreBurgess Owens (1951- )
Byron Lowell Donalds is one of only two African American Republicans currently serving as a congressional representative in the U.S. Congress (along with Burgess Owens, R-Utah), and the only African American Republican in the Florida congressional delegation. Born on October 28, 1978, in Brooklyn, New … Read MoreByron Lowell Donalds (1978- )
Rufus Calvin Kuykendall was an attorney, politician, and one of the first African Americans to be elected judge in Indiana’s Marion County Superior Court. Kuykendall was born on September 24, 1903 in Indianapolis, Indiana to John, a former slave from Tennessee, and Belle (Jackson) Kuykendall. … Read MoreRufus Calvin Kuykendall (1903-1977)
