The United States House of Representatives has had 189 elected African-American members, of whom 183 have been representatives from U.S. states and six have been delegates from U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, which is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the term "African American" includes all individuals who identify with one or more nationalities or ethnic groups originating in any of the black racial groups of Africa. The term is generally used for Americans with at least partial ancestry in any of the original peoples of sub-Saharan Africa. During the founding of the federal government, African Americans were consigned to a status of second-class citizenship or enslaved. No African American served in federal elective office before the ratification in 1870 of the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Fifteenth Amendment prohibits the federal and state governments from denying any citizen the right to vote because of that citizen's race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Joseph Rainey was the first African-American representative to be seated in the U.S. House. He served South Carolina's 1st congressional district beginning in 1870 during the Reconstruction era following the American Civil War. The first African-American woman to serve as a representative was Shirley Chisholm from New York's 12th congressional district in 1969 during the Civil Rights Movement.
Many African-American members of the House of Representatives serve majority-minority districts. Some of these congressional districts are gerrymandered, limiting serious challenges to their re-election, and limiting their abilities to represent a larger, more diverse constituency. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 includes restrictions on the ability of States to diminish minority representation during redistricting. In the elections of 2016 and 2018, an increasing number of non-majority-minority districts have elected racial minority representatives.
Overall, 32 of the 50 U.S. states, plus the U.S. Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia, have elected an African American to represent them in the U.S. House of Representatives, with Oregon being the most recent to elect its first, in 2024. Out of these, 24 states, plus the U.S. Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia, have elected an African-American woman to represent them in the U.S. House. Illinois's 1st congressional district has the longest continuous streak of electing African-American representatives, a stretch that has lasted since 1928. there are 61 African-American representatives and two African-American delegates in the United States House of Representatives, representing 29 states, plus the U.S. Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia. Most are members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
List of states represented by African Americans State Current members Previous members Total First African-American member Political party of first African-American member Years with African-American members Alabama 2 5 7 Benjamin S. Turner Republican 1871–1877, 1993–present Alaska 0 0 0 Arizona 0 0 0 Arkansas 0 0 0 California 3 11 14 Augustus F. Hawkins Democratic 1963–present Colorado 1 0 1 Joe Neguse Democratic 2019–present Connecticut 1 1 2 Gary Franks Republican 1991–1997, 2019–present Delaware 0 1 1 Lisa Blunt Rochester Democratic 2017–2025 Florida 3 9 12 Josiah T. Walls Republican 1871–1876, 1993–present Georgia 5 7 12 Jefferson F. Long Republican 1871, 1973–1977, 1987–present Hawaii 0 0 0 Idaho 0 0 0 Illinois 4 13 17 Oscar Stanton DePriest Republican 1929–present Indiana 1 2 3 Katie Hall Democratic 1982–1985, 1997–present Iowa 0 0 0 Kansas 0 0 0 Kentucky 0 0 0 Louisiana 2 3 5 Charles E. Nash Republican 1875–1877, 1991–2009, 2011–present Maine 0 0 0 Maryland 2 5 7 Parren Mitchell Democratic 1971–present Massachusetts 1 0 1 Ayanna Pressley Democratic 2019–present Michigan 1 8 9 Charles Diggs Democratic 1955–present Minnesota 1 1 2 Keith Ellison Democratic–Farmer–Labor 2007–present Mississippi 1 2 3 John R. Lynch Republican 1873–1877, 1882–1883, 1987–present Missouri 2 4 6 Bill Clay Democratic 1969–present Montana 0 0 0 Nebraska 0 0 0 Nevada 1 0 1 Steven Horsford Democratic 2013–2015, 2019–present New Hampshire 0 0 0 New Jersey 4 2 6 Donald M. Payne Democratic 1989–present New Mexico 0 0 0 New York 5 10 15 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Democratic 1945–present North Carolina 3 8 11 John Adams Hyman Republican 1875–1877, 1883–1887, 1889–1893, 1897–1901, 1992–present North Dakota 0 0 0 Ohio 3 3 6 Louis Stokes Democratic 1969–present Oklahoma 0 1 1 J. C. Watts Republican 1995–2003 Oregon 1 0 1 Janelle BynumDemocratic 2025–present Pennsylvania 2 4 6 Robert N. C. Nix Sr. Democratic 1958–present Rhode Island 1 0 1 Gabe Amo Democratic 2023–present South Carolina 1 9 10 Joseph Rainey Republican 1870–1879, 1882–1887, 1890–1891, 1893–1897, 1993–present South Dakota 0 0 0 Tennessee 0 2 2 Harold Ford Sr. Democratic 1975–2007 Texas 5 9 14 Barbara Jordan Democratic 1973–present Utah 1 1 2 Mia Love Republican 2015–2019, 2021–present Vermont 0 0 0 Virginia 2 2 4 John Mercer Langston Republican 1890–1891, 1993–present Washington 1 0 1 Marilyn Strickland Democratic 2021–present West Virginia 0 0 0 Wisconsin 1 0 1 Gwen Moore Democratic 2005–present Wyoming 0 0 0
Reconstruction and early post-Reconstruction era, 1870–1887 Political party
RepresentativeCongressional districtTook officeLeft officePartyCongressFormer slave?NotesJoseph RaineySouth Carolina's 1stRepublican41stYesLost reelection45thJefferson F. LongGeorgia's 4thRepublican41stYesRetiredRobert C. De LargeSouth Carolina's 2ndRepublican42ndNoUnseated in 1873 due to a contested election that involved Christopher C. Bowen, the previous seat holderRobert B. ElliottSouth Carolina's 3rdRepublican42ndNo Resigned43rdBenjamin S. TurnerAlabama's 1stRepublican42ndYesLost reelectionJosiah T. WallsFlorida's at-largeRepublican42ndYesUnseated in 1873 and 1876 due to contested elections that involved Silas L. Niblack and Jesse Finley, respectively. 43rdFlorida's 2nd44thRichard H. CainSouth Carolina's at-largeRepublican43rdNo RetiredSouth Carolina's 2nd45thJohn R. LynchMississippi's 6thRepublican43rdYesLost reelection 44th47thAlonzo J. RansierSouth Carolina's 2ndRepublican43rdNoRetiredJames T. RapierAlabama's 2ndRepublican43rdNoLost reelectionJeremiah HaralsonAlabama's 1stRepublican44thYesLost reelectionJohn Adams HymanNorth Carolina's 2ndRepublican44thYesLost renominationCharles E. NashLouisiana's 6thRepublican44thNoLost reelectionRobert SmallsSouth Carolina's 5thRepublican44thYesLost reelection45th47thLost reelectionSouth Carolina's 7th48thRetired49thJames E. O'HaraNorth Carolina's 2ndRepublican48thNoLost reelection49th
Late post-Reconstruction, Populist, and early Jim Crow era, 1887–1929 Political party
RepresentativeCongressional districtTook officeLeft officePartyCongressFormer slave?NotesHenry P. CheathamNorth Carolina's 2ndRepublican51stYesLost reelection52ndJohn Mercer LangstonVirginia's 4thRepublican51stNoLost reelectionThomas E. MillerSouth Carolina's 7thRepublican51stNoLost reelectionGeorge W. MurraySouth Carolina's 7thRepublican53rdYesLost reelectionSouth Carolina's 1st54thGeorge Henry WhiteNorth Carolina's 2ndRepublican55thYesRetired56th
Late Jim Crow and Civil Rights era, 1929–1970 Political parties
RepresentativeCongressional districtTook officeLeft officePartyCongressNotesOscar Stanton De PriestIllinois's 1stRepublican71stLost reelection72nd73rdArthur W. MitchellIllinois's 1stDemocratic74thRetired77thWilliam L. DawsonIllinois's 1stDemocratic78thDied in office91stAdam Clayton Powell Jr.New York's 22ndDemocratic79thLost renomination82ndNew York's 16th83rd87thNew York's 18th88th89th90th91stCharles DiggsMichigan's 13thDemocratic84thResigned after being convicted of mail fraud96thRobert N. C. Nix Sr.Pennsylvania's 4thDemocratic85thLost renomination87thPennsylvania's 2nd88th95thAugustus F. HawkinsCalifornia's 21stDemocratic88thRetired93rdCalifornia's 29th94th101stJohn ConyersMichigan's 1stDemocratic89thResigned after being accused of sexual harassment.102ndMichigan's 14th103rd112thMichigan's 13th113th115thShirley ChisholmNew York's 12thDemocratic91stRetired97thBill ClayMissouri's 1stDemocratic91stRetired106thLouis StokesOhio's 21stDemocratic91stRetired102ndOhio's 11th103rd105thGeorge W. CollinsIllinois's 6thDemocratic91stDied in office92nd
Modern era, 1971–present
Representatives Political parties