Roll Call: Black Members of Congress
Edolphus Towns
Congressman Edolphus Towns represented congressional districts in New York from 1983 to 2013 (98th-112th Congresses). Towns was an Army veteran whose career included serving as a professor, public school teacher, and hospital administrator before his tenure in...
Alton R. Waldon Jr.
Congressman Alton Waldon represented New York’s 6th Congressional District from 1986 to 1987 (99th Congress). Before his congressional service, Waldon served in the New York State Assembly and New York State Senate. During his Congressional term, Waldon served on the...
John R. Lewis
Congressman John Lewis represented Georgia's 5th Congressional District from 1987 until his death on July 17, 2020 (100th-116th Congresses). Lewis began his public advocacy during the Civil Rights Movement of the mid-20th century. He was chairman of the Student...
Alphonso M. (Mike) Espy
Congressman Mike Espy represented Mississippi's 2nd Congressional District from 1987 until his resignation to become Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1993 (100th-103rd Congresses). When elected to Congress, Espy became the first African American to...
Charles Arthur Hayes
Congressman Charles Hayes represented Illinois's 1st Congressional District from 1983 to 1993 (98th-102nd Congresses). Hayes was the first trade unionist ever elected to Congress. Hayes was on the Education and Labor and Small Business committees, sponsoring bills to...
Katie Beatrice Hall
Congresswoman Katie Hall represented Indiana in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1982 to 1985 (97th-98th Congresses) after winning a special election to fill a vacancy. Hall was the first African American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives from the...
Mervyn Malcolm Dymally
Congressman Mervyn Dymally represented California's 31st District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1981 to 1993 (97th-102nd Congresses). A longtime member of the California legislature before coming to Congress, Dymally was the first Back elected to statewide...
Gus Savage
Congressman Gus Savage represented the 2nd Congressional District of Illinois from 1981 to 1993 (97th-102nd Congresses). Savage was a veteran, civil rights activist, and pioneering African American journalist and publisher before becoming involved in local politics in...
Harold Washington
Congressman Harold Washington represented Illinois's 1st Congressional District from 1981 until his resignation to serve as Mayor of Chicago in April 1983 (96th-97th Congresses). Washington was actively engaged in Chicago politics as a lawyer and World War II veteran....
George William Crockett Jr.
Congressman George Crockett represented Michigan's 13th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1980 to 1991 (96th-101st Congresses). At age 71, he was the oldest African American ever elected to Congress. Throughout his career, Crockett was a...
Julian Carey Dixon
Congressman Julian Dixon represented California in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1979 until his death on December 8, 2000 (96th-106th Congresses). Before his election to the House, Dixon was a lawyer and California State assemblyman. In Congress, Dixon served...
William Herbert Gray III
Congressman William Gray represented Pennsylvania's 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1979 to 1991 (96th-102nd Congresses). Gray was the first African American in Congress to chair the powerful and partisan Budget Committee and the...
George Thomas (Mickey) Leland
Congressman Mickey Leland represented Texas 18th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1979 until his death on August 7, 1989 (96th-101st Congresses). A Democrat and anti-poverty activist, Leland was known for his advocacy on hunger and...
Kweisi Mfume
Congressman Kweisi Mfume has represented Maryland’s 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2020 (116th Congress-Present). Mfume previously represented the same district in Congress from 1987 to 1996 (100th-104th Congresses). Mfume has an...
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, Washington was active...
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...
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...