The United States 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. No African American served in the elective office before the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1870, which prohibits the federal government and state governments from denying any citizen the right to vote because of that citizen's race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

United States House of Representatives

In Reconstruction and Redemption eras

Representative	Party	District	Years	Lifepsan	Former slave	Notes
John Willis Menard[1]	Republican	Louisiana's 2nd	1868	1838–1893	No	First African-American to win an election to Congress Denied seat on the basis of an election challenge
Joseph Rainey	Republican	South Carolina's 2nd	December 12, 1870 - March 3, 1879	1832–1887	Yes	First African-American to served in Congress First African-American to serve in Congress from South Carolina Lost re-election
Jefferson F. Long	Republican	Georgia's 4th	December 22, 1870 - March 3, 1871	1836–1901	Yes	First African-American to serve in Congress from Georgia Retired
Robert C. De Large	Republican	South Carolina's 2nd	March 4, 1871 - January 24, 1873	1842–1874	No	Seat declared vacant as the result of an election and racial challenge initiated by Christopher C. Bowen
Robert B. Elliott	Republican	South Carolina's 2nd	March 4, 1871 - November 1, 1874	1842–1884	No	Resigned and in 1876; elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives
Benjamin S. Turner	Republican	Alabama's 1st	March 4, 1871 - March 3, 1873	1825–1894	Yes	First African-American to serve in Congress from Alabama Lost re-election
Josiah T. Walls	Republican	Florida's at-large	March 4, 1871 - March 3, 1975	1842–1905	Yes	First African-American to serve in Congress from Florida Removed from seat both times due to racial reasons in favor of Jesse Finley and Silas L. Niblack
		Florida's 2nd	March 4, 1875 – April 19, 1876
Richard H. Cain	Republican	South Carolina's at-large	March 4, 1873 - March 3, 1875	1825–1887	No	Retired
		South Carolina's 2nd	March 4, 1877 - March 3, 1879
John R. Lynch	Republican	Mississippi's 6th	March 4, 1873 - March 4, 1877	1847–1939	Yes	First African-American to serve in Congress from Missisippi In 1876 was not allowed to take his seat due to racial reasons and in 1883 lost re-election
			April 29, 1882 - March 4, 1883
James T. Rapier	Republican	Alabama's 2nd	March 4, 1873 - March 3, 1875	1837–1883	No	Lost re-election
Alonzo J. Ransier	Republican	South Carolina's 2nd	March 4, 1873 - March 3, 1875	1834–1882	No	Former Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina and retired
Jeremiah Haralson	Republican	Alabama's 1st	March 4, 1875 - March 3, 1877	1846–1916	Yes	Lost re-election
John Adams Hyman	Republican	North Carolina's 2nd	March 4, 1875 - March 3, 1877	1840–1891	Yes	First African-American to serve in Congress from North Carolina Lost re-nomination
Charles E. Nash	Republican	Louisiana's 6th	March 4, 1875 - March 3, 1877	1844–1913	No	First African-American to serve in Congress from Louisiana Lost re-election
Robert Smalls	Republican	South Carolina's 7th	March 18, 1884 – March 3, 1887	1839–1915	Yes	Lost re-election and retired
		South Carolina's 5th	July 19, 1882 – March 3, 1883
			March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1879
James E. O'Hara	Republican	North Carolina's 2nd	March 4, 1883 - March 3, 1887	1844–1905	No	Lost re-election
Henry P. Cheatham	Republican	North Carolina's 2nd	March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1893	1857–1935	Yes	Lost re-election
John Mercer Langston	Republican	Virginia's 4th	September 23, 1890 - March 3, 1891	1829–1897	No	First African-American to serve in Congress from Virginia Lost re-election
Thomas E. Miller	Republican	South Carolina's 7th	September 24, 1890 – March 3, 1891	1849–1938	No	Lost re-election
George W. Murray	Republican	South Carolina's 7th	March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1895	1853–1926	Yes	Lost re-election
		South Carolina's 1st	June 4, 1896 – March 3, 1897
George Henry White	Republican	North Carolina's 2nd	March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1901	1852–1918	No	Retired

In modern era

Representative	Party	District	Years	Lifepsan	Notes
Oscar Stanton De Priest	Republican	Illinois's 1st	March 4, 1929 – January 3, 1935	1871–1951	Lost re-election
Arthur W. Mitchell	Democrat	Illinois 1st	January 3, 1935 - January 3, 1943	1883–1968	Retired
William L. Dawson	Democrat	Illinois's 1st	January 3, 1943 – November 9, 1970	1886–1970	Died in office
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.	Democrat	New York's 22nd	January 3, 1945 – January 3, 1953	1908–1972	Lost renomination
		New York's 16th	January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1963
		New York's 18th	January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1971
Charles Diggs	Democrat	Michigan's 13th	January 3, 1955 – June 3, 1980	1922–1998	Censured, resigned and jailed for three years for mail fraud
Robert N.C. Nix, Sr.	Democrat	Pennsylvania's 2nd	January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1979	1898–1987	Lost renomination
		Pennsylvania's 4th	May 20, 1958 – January 3, 1963
Augustus F. Hawkins	Democrat	California's 21st	January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1975	1907–2007	Retired
		California's 29th	January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1991
John Conyers	Democrat	Michigan's 1st	January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1993	1929 –
		Michigan's 14th	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2013
		Michigan's 13th	January 3, 2013 -
Bill Clay	Democrat	Missouri's 1st	January 3, 1969 – January 3, 2001	1931 –	Retired
Louis Stokes	Democrat	Ohio's 11th	January 3, 1969 – January 3, 1993	1925 –	Retired
		Ohio's 21st	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1999
Shirley Chisholm	Democrat	New York's 12th	January 3, 1969 – January 3, 1983	1924–2005	Retired
George W. Collins	Democrat	Illinois's 6th	1970–1972	1925–1972	Died in office
Ron Dellums	Democrat	California's 9th	January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1975	1935 –	Resigned
		California's 8th	January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1993
		California's 9th	January 3, 1993 – February 6, 1998
Ralph Metcalfe	Democrat	Illinois's 1st	January 3, 1971 – October 10, 1978	1910–1978	Died in office
Parren Mitchell	Democrat	Maryland's 7th	January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1987	1922–2007	Retired to run unsuccessfully as Lieutenant Governor of Maryland
Charles B. Rangel	Democrat	New York's 18th	January 5, 1971 – January 5, 1973	1930 –
		New York's 19th	January 3, 1973 – January 5, 1983
		New York's 16th	January 3, 1983 – January 5, 1993
		New York's 15	January 3, 1993 – January 5, 2013
		New York's 13th	January 3, 2013 -
Yvonne Brathwaite Burke	Democrat	California's 37th	January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1975	1932 –	Retired to run unsuccessfully as Attorney General of California
		California's 28th	January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1979
Cardiss Collins	Democrat	Illinois's 7th	June 5, 1973 – January 3, 1997	1931–2013	Retired
Barbara Jordan	Democrat	Texas's 18th	January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1979	1936–1996	Retired
Andrew Young	Democrat	Georgia's 5th	January 3, 1973 – January 29, 1977	1932 –	Resigned to become the United States Ambassador to the United Nations
Harold Ford, Sr.	Democrat	Tennessee's 9th	January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1997	1945 –	Retired
Julian C. Dixon	Democrat	California's 28th	January 3, 1979 - January 3, 1993	1934–2000	Died in office
		California's 32nd	January 3, 1993 - December 8, 2000
William H. Gray, III	Democrat	Pennsylvania's 2nd	January 3, 1979 – September 11, 1991	1941 –	Resigned to become President of the United Negro College Fund
Mickey Leland	Democrat	Texas's 18th	January 3, 1979 – August 7, 1989	1944–1989	Died in office
Bennett M. Stewart	Democrat	Illinois 1st	January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1981	1912–1988	Lost renomination
George W. Crockett, Jr.	Democrat	Michigan's 13th	November 4, 1980 – January 3, 1991	1909–1997	Retired
Mervyn M. Dymally	Democrat	California's 31st	January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1993	1926–2012	Retired
Gus Savage	Democrat	Illinois's 2nd	January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1993	1925 –	Lost renomination
Harold Washington	Democrat	Illinois 1st	January 5, 1981 – April 30, 1983	1922–1987	Resigned to become Mayor of Chicago
Katie Hall	Democrat	Indiana's 1st	November 2, 1982 – January 3, 1985	1938–2012	Lost renomination
Major Owens	Democrat	New York's 11th	January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1993	1936 –	Retired
		New York's 12th	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2007
Ed Towns	Democrat	New York's 10th	January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1993	1934 –	Retired
		New York's 11th	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2013
Alan Wheat	Democrat	Missouri's 5th	January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1995	1951 -	Retired to run unsuccessfully for the United States Senate Missouri
Charles Hayes	Democrat	Illinois's 1st	August 23, 1983 – January 3, 1993	1918–1997	Lost renomination
Alton R. Waldon, Jr.	Democrat	New York's 6th	June 10, 1986 – January 3, 1987	1936 –	Lost renomination
Mike Espy	Democrat	Mississippi'2nd	January 3, 1987 – January 22, 1993	1953 –	Resigned to become the United States Secretary of Agriculture
Floyd H. Flake	Democrat	New York's 6th	January 3, 1987 – November 17, 1997	1945 –	Resigned to tend full-time to the church he headed, the Allen African Methodist Episcopal Church
John Lewis	Democrat	Georgia's 5th	January 3, 1987 – present	1940 –
Kweisi Mfume	Democrat	Maryland's 7th	January 3, 1987 – February 15, 1996	1948 –	Resigned to become President of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
Donald M. Payne	Democrat	New Jersey's 10th	January 3, 1989 – March 6, 2012	1934–2012	Died in office
Rep. Washinton Craig Anthony Washington	Democrat	Texas's 18th	December 9, 1989 – January 3, 1995	1941–	Lost renomination
Barbara-Rose Collins	Democrat	Michigan's 13th	January 3, 1991 – January 3, 1993	1939 –	Lost renomination
		Michigan's 15th	January 3, 1993 - January 3, 1997
Gary Franks	Republican	Connecticut's 5th	January 7, 1991 – January 7, 1997	1953 –	Lost re-election
William J. Jefferson	Democrat	Louisiana's 2nd	January 3, 1991 – January 3, 2009	1947 -	Lost re-election and was sentenced to 13 years for bribery after a corruption investigation
Maxine Waters	Democrat	California's 29th	January 3, 1991 – January 3, 1993	1938 –
		California's 35th	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2013
		California's 43rd	January 3, 2013 - present
Lucien E. Blackwell	Democrat	Pennsylvania's 2nd	November 5, 1991 – January 3, 1995	1931–2003	Lost renomination
Eva M. Clayton	Democrat	North Carolina's 1st	November 3, 1992 – January 3, 2003	1934 –	Retired
Sanford Bishop	Democrat	Georgia's 2nd	January 3, 1993 – present	1947 –
Corrine Brown	Democrat	Florida's 3rd	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2013	1946 –
		Florida's 5th	January 3, 2013 - present
Jim Clyburn	Democrat	South Carolina's 6th	January 3, 1993 – present	1940 -	Incumbent
Cleo Fields	Democrat	Louisiana's 4th	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1997	1962 –	Retired
Alcee Hastings	Democrat	Florida's 23rd	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2013	1936 –
		Florida's 20th	January 3, 2013 - present
Earl Hilliard	Democrat	Alabama's 7th	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2003	1942 –	Lost renomination
Eddie Bernice Johnson	Democrat	Texas's 30th	January 3, 1993 – present	1935 –
Cynthia McKinney	Democrat	Georgia's 11th	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1997	1955 –	Lost renomination both times
		Georgia 4th	January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2003
			January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2007
Carrie P. Meek	Democrat	Florida's 17th	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2003	1926 –	Retired
Mel Reynolds	Democrat	Illinois's 2nd	January 3, 1993 – October 1, 1995	1952 –	Resigned after being convicted on 12 counts of sexual assault, obstruction of justice and solicitation of child pornography and being sentenced to five years in prison
Bobby Rush	Democrat	Illinois's 1st	January 3, 1993 – present	1946 –
Robert C. Scott	Democrat	Virginia's 3rd	January 3, 1993 – present	1947 –
Walter Tucker	Democrat	California 37th	January 3, 1993 – December 15, 1995	1957 –	Resigned due to scandals involving accepting and demanding bribes while mayor of Compton. Tucker was sentenced to 27 months in prison for extortion and tax evasion
Mel Watt	Democrat	North Carolina's 12th	January 3, 1993 – present	1945 -
Albert Wynn	Democrat	Maryland's 4th	January 3, 1993 – May 31, 2008	1951 –	Lost renomination and resigned
Bennie Thompson	Democrat	Mississippi's 2nd	January 3, 1993 – present	1948 –
Chaka Fattah	Democrat	Pennsylvania's 2nd	January 3, 1995 – present	1956 –
Sheila Jackson-Lee	Democrat	Texas's 18th	January 3, 1995–present	1950 –
J. C. Watts	Republican	Oklahoma's 4th	January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2003	1957 –	Retired
Jesse Jackson, Jr.	Democrat	Illinois's 2nd	December 12, 1995 – November 21, 2012	1965 –	Resigned, citing mental and physical health problems, but acknowledging that he was under two separate investigations by the House Ethics Committee and the FBI. Jackson pleaded guilty on February 20, 2013 to one count of wire and mail fraud
Juanita Millender-McDonald	Democrat	California's 37th	March 26, 1996 – April 22, 2007	1938–2007	Died in office
Elijah Cummings	Democrat	Maryland's 7th	1996 – present	1951 –
Julia Carson	Democrat	Indiana's 10th	January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2003	1938–2007	Died in office
		Indiana's 7th	January 3, 2003 – December 15, 2007
Danny K. Davis	Democrat	Illinois's 7th	January 3, 1997 – present	1941 –
Harold Ford, Jr.	Democrat	Tennessee's 9th	January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2007	1970 –	Retired to run unsuccessfully for the United States Senate from Tennessee
Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick	Democrat	Michigan's 15th	January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2003	1945 –	Lost renomination
		Michigan's 13th	January 3, 2003 - January 3, 2013
Gregory W. Meeks	Democrat	New York's 6th	February 3, 1998 – January 3, 2013	1953 –
		New York's 5th	January 3, 2013 - present
Barbara Lee	Democrat	California's 9th	April 7, 1998 – January 3, 2013	1946 –
		California's 13th	January 3, 2013 - present
Stephanie Tubbs Jones	Democrat	Ohio's 11th	January 3, 1999 – August 20, 2008	1949–2008	Died in office
William Lacy Clay, Jr.	Democrat	Missouri's 1st	January 3, 2001 – present	1956 –
Diane Watson	Democrat	California's 32nd	June 5, 2001 – January 3, 2003	1933 –	Retired
		California's 33rd	January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2011
Frank Ballance	Democrat	North Carolina's 1st	January 7, 2003 – June 8, 2004	1942 –	Resigned and was sentenced to four years in prison, two years supervised release, and fined $10,000, for mail fraud and money laundering
Artur Davis	Democrat	Alabama's 7th	January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2011	1967 –	Retired to run unsuccessfully as Governor of Alabama. Became a member of the Republican Party in 2012.
Denise Majette	Democrat	Georgia 4th	January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2005	1955 –	Retired to run unsuccessfully for the United States Senate from Georgia
Kendrick Meek	Democrat	Florida's 17th	January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2011	1966 –	Retired to run unsuccessfully for the United States Senate from Florida
David Scott	Democrat	Georgia's 13th	January 3, 2003 – present	1946 –
Emanuel Cleaver	Democrat	Missouri's 5th	January 3, 2005 – present	1944 –
Al Green	Democrat	Texas's 9th	January 3, 2005–present	1947–
Gwen Moore	Democrat	Wisconsin's 4th	January 3, 2005 – present	1951–
Yvette D. Clarke	Democrat	New York's 11th	January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2013	1964–
		New York's 9th	January 3, 2013
Keith Ellison	Democrat	Minnesota's 5th	January 3, 2007 – present	1963–
Hank Johnson	Democrat	Georgia's 4th	January 3, 2007 – present	1954–
Laura Richardson	Democrat	California's 37th	August 21, 2007 – January 3, 2013	1962–	In 2012 was reprimanded due to use of Congressional office staff in 2010 House election campaign and lost re-election
André Carson	Democrat	Indiana's 7th	March 11, 2008 – present	1974–
Donna Edwards	Democrat	Maryland's 4th	June 19, 2008 – present	1958–
Marcia Fudge	Democrat	Ohio's 11th	November 18, 2008 – present	1952–
Rep. Bass Karen Bass	Democrat	California's 33rd	January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2013	1953–
		California's 37th	January 3, 2013 - present
Hansen Clarke	Democrat	Michigan 13th	January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2013	1957–	Lost renomination
Cedric Richmond	Democrat	Louisiana's 2nd	January 3, 2011 - present	1973–
Tim Scott	Republican	South Carolina's 1st	2011–2013	1965–	First African-American to serve in both chambers of congress Appointed to Senate by South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley to replace Jim DeMint
Terri Sewell	Democrat	Alabama's 7th	January 3, 2011 – present	1965–
Allen West	Republican	Florida's 22nd	January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2013	1961–	Lost re-election
Frederica Wilson	Democrat	Florida's 17th	January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2013	1942–
		Florida's 24th	January 3, 2013 - present
Donald Payne, Jr.	Democrat	New Jersey 10th	November 15, 2012 – present	1958–
Joyce Beatty	Democrat	Ohio's 3rd	January 3, 2013 – present	1950–
Steven Horsford	Democrat	Nevada's 4th	January 3, 2013 – present	1973–
Hakeem Jeffries	Democrat	New York's 8th	January 3, 2013 – present	1970–
Robin Kelly	Democrat	Illinois's 2nd	April 11, 2013 – present	1956–

Delegate	Party	District	Term	Lifespan	Notes
Walter E. Fauntroy	Democrat	District of Columbia's at-large	January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1991	1933–	Retired to run unsuccessfully run for Mayor of the District of Columbia
Melvin H. Evans	Republican	Virgin Islands's at-large	January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1981	1917–1984	Lost re-election
Eleanor Holmes Norton	Democrat	District of Columbia's at-large	January 3, 1991 – present	1937–
Victor O. Frazer	Independent	Virgin Islands's at-large	January 3, 1995 – January 3, 1997	1943-	Lost re-election
Donna Christian-Christensen	Democrat	Virgin Islands's at-large	January 3, 1997 – present	1945–

References