Roll Call: Black Members of Congress
Floyd Harold Flake
Congressman Floyd Flake represented New York's 6th Congressional District from 1987 to 1997 (100th-105th Congresses). When elected, Flake was new to public office but was the pastor of one of the largest churches in New York City, Allen African Methodist Episcopal...
Craig Anthony Washington
Congressman Craig Washington represented Texas's 18th Congressional District from 1989, when he was elected to fill the vacancy created by the death of George T. (Mickey) Leland, until 1995 (101nd-103rd Congresses). During his tenure in Congress, he was active on the...
Earl Frederick Hilliard
Congressman Earl Hilliard represented Alabama's 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2003 (103rd-107th Congresses). Before Congress, Hilliard served in the Alabama House of Representatives and the Alabama Senate. He served on...
Carrie P. Meek
Congresswoman Carrie Meek served Florida's 17th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2003 (103rd-107th Congresses). Her committee assignments included the Government Reform and Oversight, Budget, and Appropriations committees. Meek...
Carol Moseley Braun
Senator Carol Moseley Braun served Illinois in the U.S. Senate from 1993 to 1999 (103rd-105th Congresses). While a Senator, Moseley Braun served on the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Judiciary; Small Business; Finance; and Special Aging committees. Before...
Cleo Fields
Congressman Cleo Fields served Louisiana's 4th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 1997 (103rd-104th Congresses). Fields was the youngest member of the 103rd Congress and, prior to his Congressional service, had been the youngest...
Walter R. Tucker III
Congressman Walter Tucker represented California's 37th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 1995 (103rd-104th Congresses). Tucker served on the Public Works and Transportation (later renamed Transportation and Infrastructure) and...
Mel Reynolds
Congressman Mel Reynolds represented Illinois's 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 1995 (103rd-104th Congresses). He served on the Economic and Educational Opportunities and the Ways and Means committees. Reynolds earned...
Eva M. Clayton
Congresswoman Eva Clayton served as a representative of North Carolina's 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1992 to 2003 (102nd-107th Congresses). She was the first African American woman to be elected to Congress from North Carolina....
Maxine Waters
Congresswoman Maxine Waters has represented California in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1991 (102nd Congress-Present). Waters made history as the first woman and first African American chair of the House Financial Services Committee. A key figure in...
Eleanor Holmes Norton
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton has been a delegate from the District of Columbia since January 3, 1991 (102nd Congress-Present). Norton is the chair of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. She also serves on the Committee on Oversight and Reform and...
Donald Milford Payne
Congressman Donald Payne represented New York's 10th Congressional District from 1989 until his death on March 6, 2012 (101st-112th Congresses). Before his election to the U.S. House of Representatives, Payne was a business executive and teacher. At the time of his...
Lucien Edward Blackwell
Congressman Lucien Blackwell represented Pennsylvania's 2nd Congressional District from 1991 to 1995 (102nd-103rd Congresses) in the U.S. House of Representatives. Before his time in Congress, Korean War veteran Blackwell was active in state and local politics,...
Barbara-Rose Collins
Congresswoman Barbara-Rose Collins represented congressional districts in Michigan in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1991 to 1997 (102nd-104th Congresses). Her committee assignments included the Public Works and Transportation; Transportation and...
Gary A. Franks
Congressman Gary Franks served Connecticut's 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1991 to 1997 (102nd-104th Congresses). A Republican, Franks served on the Armed Services, Commerce, Select Aging, Energy and Commerce, and Small Business...
Cynthia Ann McKinney
Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney represented Georgia in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2003 (103rd-107th Congresses) and again during the 109th Congress (2005-2007). She was the first African American woman to serve in the House from Georgia. Her...
William Jennings Jefferson
Congressman William Jefferson represented Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1991 to 2009 (102nd-110th Congresses). Jefferson sat on the Education, District of Columbia, and Labor and the Merchant Marine and Fisheries...
George Henry White
Congressman George White, enslaved until the age of 10, was the last Black American to serve in Congress until 1928. He represented North Carolina from 1897 to 1901 (55th-56th Congresses), serving on the Agriculture and District of Columbia committees. In 1900, White...
Oscar Stanton De Priest
Congressman Oscar De Priest was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1929 to represent Illinois' 1st Congressional District. De Priest, a Republican, was the first African American elected to Congress in the 20th century and the first Black representative...
Arthur Wergs Mitchell
Congressman Arthur Mitchell was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1934 after defeating Oscar De Priest for his seat and served from 1935 to 1943 (74th-77th Congresses). Representing Illinois' 1st Congressional District, Mitchell was the first African...