List of African-American speakers of U.S. state legislatures

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The following is a list of African-American speakers of U.S. state legislatures.

Upper houses

Portrait Name Party Title Legislature Term start Term end Notes
Barbara Jordan Democratic President pro tempore Texas Senate March 28, 1972 March 30, 1972
Cecil A. Partee Democratic President Illinois Senate January 8, 1975 February 16, 1977
Craig Washington Democratic President pro tempore Texas Senate December 8, 1989 December 12, 1989
Joe Neal Democratic President pro tempore Nevada Senate 1991 1991
Rodney Ellis Democratic President pro tempore Texas Senate May 31, 1999 January 9, 2001
Rosa Franklin Democratic President pro tempore Washington State Senate January 8, 2001 January 13, 2003
June 30, 2004 January 10, 2011
Shirley Turner Democratic President pro tempore New Jersey Senate January 8, 2002 January 12, 2010
Emil Jones Democratic President Illinois Senate January 8, 2003 January 3, 2009
Diana Bajoie Democratic President pro tempore Louisiana State Senate January 12, 2004 January 14, 2008
Margaret Carter Democratic President pro tempore Oregon State Senate 2005 2009
Peter Groff Democratic President pro tempore Colorado Senate January 12, 2005 January 9, 2008
President January 9, 2008 January 7, 2009
Royce West Democratic President pro tempore Texas Senate April 17, 2006 January 8, 2007
Nathaniel J. McFadden Democratic President pro tempore Maryland Senate January 10, 2007 January 9, 2019
Sharon Weston Broome Democratic President pro tempore Louisiana State Senate January 14, 2008 January 11, 2016
Malcolm Smith Democratic Temporary President New York State Senate January 7, 2009 June 8, 2009
Nia Gill Democratic President pro tempore New Jersey Senate January 12, 2010 January 9, 2018
Harold Metts Democratic President pro tempore Rhode Island Senate January 3, 2017 January 5, 2021
Andrea Stewart-Cousins Democratic Temporary President New York State Senate January 9, 2019 Incumbent
Melony G. Griffith Democratic President pro tempore Maryland Senate January 8, 2020 January 11, 2023
Louise Lucas Democratic President pro tempore Virginia Senate January 8, 2020 Incumbent
James Manning Jr. Democratic President pro tempore Oregon State Senate January 11, 2021 Incumbent
Sandra Bolden Cunningham Democratic President pro tempore New Jersey Senate January 11, 2022 Incumbent
Malcolm Augustine Democratic President pro tempore Maryland Senate January 11, 2023 Incumbent

Lower houses

Portrait Name Party Title Legislature Term start Term end Notes
John R. Lynch Republican Speaker Mississippi House of Representatives January 1872 January 1873 First African-American Speaker of any state legislature
Samuel J. Lee Republican Speaker South Carolina House of Representatives 1872 1874
Robert B. Elliott Republican Speaker South Carolina House of Representatives November 24, 1874 April 14, 1876
Isaac Shadd Republican Speaker Mississippi House of Representatives 1874 1876
S. Howard Woodson Democratic Speaker New Jersey General Assembly 1974 1976 First African-American speaker of any state legislature in the United States since the Reconstruction era
K. Leroy Irvis Democratic Speaker Pennsylvania House of Representatives May 23, 1977 November 30, 1978
January 4, 1983 November 30, 1988
Willie Brown Democratic Speaker California State Assembly December 2, 1980 June 5, 1995
Lois DeBerry Democratic Speaker pro tempore Tennessee House of Representatives 1987 2010
Dan Blue Democratic Speaker North Carolina House of Representatives January 1, 1991 January 1, 1995
Sherman Copelin Democratic Speaker pro tempore Louisiana House of Representatives January 13, 1992 January 15, 1996
Donald Kofi Tucker Democratic Speaker pro tempore New Jersey General Assembly January 8, 2002 October 17, 2005
Adrienne A. Jones Democratic Speaker pro tempore Maryland House of Delegates January 8, 2003 May 1, 2019
Speaker May 1, 2019 Incumbent
John Lovick Democratic Speaker pro tempore Washington House of Representatives January 13, 2003 January 5, 2008 Served as acting speaker from 2019–2020
January 8, 2018 January 11, 2021
Sharon Weston Broome Democratic Speaker pro tempore Louisiana House of Representatives January 12, 2004 January 12, 2005
Yvonne Dorsey-Colomb Democratic Speaker pro tempore Louisiana House of Representatives January 12, 2005 January 14, 2008
Jerry Green Democratic Speaker pro tempore New Jersey General Assembly January 8, 2008 April 18, 2018
Karen Carter Peterson Democratic Speaker pro tempore Louisiana House of Representatives January 14, 2008 March 8, 2010
Karen Bass Democratic Speaker California State Assembly May 13, 2008 March 1, 2010 First African-American woman to serve as Speaker of any state legislature
Terrance Carroll Democratic Speaker Colorado House of Representatives January 7, 2009 January 12, 2011
Sheila Oliver Democratic Speaker New Jersey General Assembly January 12, 2010 January 14, 2014
Gordon Fox Democratic Speaker Rhode Island House of Representatives February 11, 2010 March 22, 2014
Darrin Williams Democratic Speaker pro tempore Arkansas House of Representatives 2012 2012
T. W. Shannon Republican Speaker Oklahoma House of Representatives January 8, 2013 February 10, 2014
Jeffrion L. Aubry Democratic Speaker pro tempore New York State Assembly January 9, 2013 Incumbent
Carl Heastie Democratic Speaker New York State Assembly February 3, 2015 Incumbent
Jason Frierson Democratic Speaker Nevada Assembly February 6, 2017 April 28, 2022
Gordon M. Johnson Democratic Speaker pro tempore New Jersey General Assembly May 24, 2018 January 11, 2022
Janet Buckner Democratic Speaker pro tempore Colorado House of Representatives January 4, 2019 January 13, 2021
Sheree Sample-Hughes Democratic Speaker pro tempore Maryland House of Delegates September 9, 2019 January 10, 2024
Chris Welch Democratic Speaker Illinois House of Representatives January 13, 2021 Incumbent
Jehan Gordon-Booth Democratic Speaker pro tempore Illinois House of Representatives January 21, 2021 Incumbent
Benjie E. Wimberly Democratic Speaker pro tempore New Jersey General Assembly January 11, 2022 Incumbent
Rachel Talbot Ross Democratic Speaker Maine House of Representatives December 7, 2022 Incumbent
Joanna McClinton Democratic Speaker Pennsylvania House of Representatives February 28, 2023 Incumbent
Don Scott Democratic Speaker Virginia House of Delegates January 10, 2024 Incumbent

References