Roll Call: Black Members of Congress
William Levi Dawson
Congressman William Dawson served in the U.S. House of Representatives for nearly three decades. Dawson, a well-established politician in Chicago, was elected in 1942 as a Democratic Representative from Illinois, serving from 1943 until he died on November 9, 1970...
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.
Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. was an American Baptist pastor and politician who represented New York City in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1945 until 1971 (78th-89th and 91st Congresses, he was elected to the 90th Congress, but not seated). Powell, a...
Charles Coles Diggs, Jr.
Congressman Charles Diggs was the first African American to represent Michigan in the U.S. House of Representatives. He served the 13th District of Michigan from 1955 until his resignation on June 3, 1980 (84th-96th Congresses). Diggs was a leader on civil rights...
Robert Nelson Cornelius Nix, Sr.
Congressman Robert Nix became the first African American to represent Pennsylvania in Congress after winning a 1958 special election to fill the vacancy left by Representative Earl Chudoff. Nix served Pennsylvania's 2nd Congressional District from 1958 to 1979...
Thomas Ezekiel Miller
After successfully contesting another candidate's election, Congressman Thomas Miller represented South Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives from September 1890 to March 1891 (51st Congress). He was assigned to the Library of Congress Committee. Despite...
John Mercer Langston
Congressman John Langston was the first Black American to represent Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives. He served part of one term (1890-1891) after successfully contesting the election of another candidate to the 51st Congress. As a member of the House...
Henry Plummer Cheatham
Congressman Henry Cheatham represented North Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1889 to 1893 (51st-52nd Congresses) and was a member of the House Expenditures on Public Buildings and Agriculture committees. Born into slavery, Cheatham attended public...
George Washington Murray
Congressman George Murray represented South Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1893 to 1895 and, after successfully contesting the election of William Elliott, from 1896 to 1897 (53rd-54th Congresses). He served on the Expenditures in the Treasury and...
James Edward O’Hara
Congressman James O'Hara was the second African American to represent North Carolina in Congress, serving from 1883 to 1887 (48th-49th Congresses) in the U.S. House of Representatives. For the period between the start of this term until Robert Smalls return to...
Robert Smalls
Congressman Robert Smalls represented South Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1875 to 1879, 1882 to 1883, and from 1884 to 1887 (44th-45th, 47th, and 48th-49th Congresses). Smalls was enslaved until May 1862, when he piloted a Confederate army ship...
John Adams Hyman
Congressman John Hyman, enslaved until 1865, was the first Black American to represent North Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives, serving from 1875 to 1877 (44th Congress). He served on the Manufactures Committee. In his early twenties, Hyman worked for a...
Jeremiah Haralson
Congressman Jeremiah Haralson, enslaved until 1865, was one of three Black Americans from Alabama who served in the U.S. House of Representatives during Reconstruction. He was known for being a powerful orator. While serving in Congress, Haralson supported amnesty for...
Charles Edmund Nash
A former sergeant for the Union Army, Congressman Charles Nash was the first Black American to represent Louisiana in the U.S. House of Representatives. He served from 1875 to 1877 (44th Congress). Nash spoke on the House floor in support of enforcing laws to protect...
Bennett McVey Stewart
Congressman Bennett Stewart represented Illinois' 1st Congressional District during the 96th Congress (1979-1981). Stewart was an educator, alderman, and Chicago City Council member throughout his career. He was very active in the state and national Democratic party,...
Augustus Freeman (Gus) Hawkins
Congressman Gus Hawkins was the first African American to represent California in Congress and the first Black representative from any western state. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1963 to 1991 (88th-101st Congresses). Before serving in Congress,...
John Conyers, Jr.
Congressman John Conyers, Jr. represented Michigan in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1965 to 2017 (89th-114th Congresses). Conyers served more than fifty years, becoming the longest-serving African American member of Congress. He was the dean of the House from...
Melvin Herbert Evans
Congressman Melvin Evans, the first Black delegate to represent the U.S. Virgin Islands, was elected to Congress in 1978 and served through the 96th Congress (1979-1981). Before Congress, Evans held various medical and public health posts at hospitals and institutions...
George Washington Collins
Congressman George Collins was elected simultaneously in 1970 to the 91st and 92nd Congresses by special election to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Representative Daniel J. Ronan. Collins was reelected to the 93rd Congress, but died in an airplane crash on...
Harold Eugene Ford
Congressman Harold Ford represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives for eleven terms, from 1975 to 1997 (94th-104th Congresses). Following two terms as a state legislator, Ford was elected the first African American in Congress from Tennessee. Ford's...
Cardiss Collins
Congresswoman Cardiss Collins was the representative of Illinois' 7th Congressional District from 1973 to 1997 (93rd-104th Congresses) after winning a special election to succeed her late husband, George W. Collins, in the U.S. House of Representatives. Collins served...