African American Presidential Cabinet Members

For Black History Month, periodically I will be spotlighting individuals who were the 3rd to be something or do something. I am choosing the 3rd* because when individuals are spotlighted, it is often the 1st or 2nd person to do something, not the 3rd, so I hope to learn about people I don't know as much about. *In general, there will be a few exceptions to the "3rd rule."

Today I am looking at the first three African Americans to serve in a president's cabinet.

Robert C. Weaver became the first African-American to serve in a president's cabinet when he was appointed secretary of housing and urban development by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966.

William Thaddeus Coleman Jr. was the fourth United States Secretary of Transportation, and the second African American to serve in the United States Cabinet.

Patricia Roberts Harris was the first black woman to serve in a presidential cabinet when she was named to the same position by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. 

Two years later, Carter tapped her for secretary of health and human services, making her the first African-American to hold two different cabinet positions. 

She previously served as the United States ambassador to Luxembourg from 1965 to 1967 under President Lyndon B. Johnson. 

Throughout her public career, Harris was a trailblazer for women and people of color .she was the first black woman U.S. ambassador, the dean of a U.S. law school, and a member of a Fortune 500 company's board of directors. A member of the Democratic Party, she ran for mayor of the District of Columbia in the 1982 mayoral election but was defeated during the primaries, ultimately finishing second to incumbent mayor Marion Barry.