From the first United States Congress in 1789 through the 119th Congress in 2025, 198 African Americans served in Congress. Meanwhile, the total number of individuals who served in Congress over that
Representative Shirley Chisholm was the first African-American woman to serve in Congress.
First black senator and representatives: Sen. Hiram Revels (R-MS), Rep. Benjamin S. Turner (R-AL), Robert DeLarge (R-SC), Josiah Walls (R-FL), Jefferson Long (R-GA), Joseph Rainey and Robert B. Elliott (R-SC)
Political cartoon: Revels (seated) replaces Jefferson Davis (left; dressed as Iago from Shakespeare's Othello) in the Senate. Harper's Weekly Feb. 19, 1870. Davis had been a senator from Mississippi until 1861.
Congressional Black Caucus
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The Congressional Black Caucus is made up of Black members of the United States Congress. Although as of 2026 all members belong to the Democratic Party, the CBC founders envisioned it as a non-partis
African Americans in the United States Congress
…these, 193 were voting members, while five served as delegates. Party membership has been 135 Democrats and 31 Republicans. While 13 members founded the Congressional Black Caucus in 1971 during the 92nd Congress, in 2025 it had 62 members, all of them Democrats, out of 535 total seats, plus six delegates. By the time of the first…
South African president Nelson Mandela with members of the Congressional Black Caucus, including Representative Kweisi Mfume, at an event at the Library of Congress
The 13 founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) List Shirley Chisholm (from New York's 12th district) Bill Clay (from Missouri's 1st district) George W. Collins (from Illinois's 6th district) John Conyers (from Michigan's 1st district) Ron Dellums (from California's 7th district) Charles Diggs (from Michigan's 13th district) Walter Fauntroy (from District of Columbia's at-large district) Augustus F. Hawkins (from California's 21st district)
The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
Congressional Black Caucus women 2019