Top 10 Historic Black Female Politicians of All-Time

Shirley Chisholm, Fannie Lou Hamer and countless others make the list

It’s hard to be a black woman in America. (And you don’t need melanin and ovaries to recognize it.)

Although black women had traditionally taken a supporting role during the Black Civil Rights Movement of the 1950’s and the 1960’s, there were several who broke out of that mold.

It’d be cliché to say that behind every great black man, there’s a great black woman. That statement doesn’t go far enough. In many cases, the black women on this list were greater than there male counterparts. They are cunning, superbly educated, nurturing, and unrelenting.

Here are the top ten important black women in U.S. politics:

1. Mary McLeod Bethune

July 10, 1875 – May 18, 1955

Her distinction: Mary McLeod Bethune worked tirelessly to improve educational opportunities for young African American children. In politics, she served on President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal administration.

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2. Shirley Antia St. Hill Chisholm

November 30 1924 – January 1, 2005

Her distinction: Shirley Chisholm was a career New York politician, who rose to notoriety as the first black woman elected to Congress and the first black major party candidate for President of the United States.

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3. Fannie Lou Hamer

October 6, 1917 – March 14, 1977

Her distinction: Fannie Lou Hamer was a prominent voice in the fight for African American voting rights in the south. She became the vice-chair of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and delivered a moving testimony before the 1964 Democratic National Convention in 1964.

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4. Carol Elizabeth Moseley Braun

August 16, 1947 –

Her distinction: Carol Moseley Braun is the only African American woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate. She has served as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand during the Clinton and Bush administrations. She also ran for mayor of Chicago, losing to several candidates, including former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel in 2011.

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5. Barbara Jordan

February 21, 1936 – January 17, 1996