The myth of African American Upward Immobility
Some day, there will be an African American mayor in the USA.1
Some day there will be an African American member of a state legislature.2
Some day there will be an African American member of Congress in the USA.3
Some day there will be an African American US Senator.4
Some day there will be an African American state governor.5
Some day there will be an African American Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the USA.6
Some day there will be an African American member of the Supreme Court in the USA.7
Some day there will be an African American Attorney General in the USA.8
Some day there will be an African American Secretary of Defense in the USA.9
Some day there will be an African American Secretary of State in the USA.10
Some day there will be an African American Vice President of the USA.11
Some day there will be an African American President of the USA.12
Some day there will be an African American billionaire in the USA.13
In fact, there already has been all of these…
1The first African American mayor of a town in the United States was Pierre Caliste Landry, who became the mayor of Donaldsonville, Louisiana, in 1868. Landry, born into slavery in 1841, was emancipated after the Civil War and went on to become a significant political figure during the Reconstruction era. His election as mayor marked a historic moment in U.S. history, as he became the first African American to hold such an office in any town or city in the country.
Economic Circumstances: Poor (Born into slavery)
Household: Single parent (raised by his mother after his father was sold to another plantation)
2The first African American to serve in a state legislature in the United States was Alexander Twilight. He was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives in 1836. Twilight was a minister and educator, and he is recognized as the first African American to serve in a state legislature.
Economic Circumstances: Poor to middle class (Worked from a young age to support his education)
Household: Two-parent household until the death of his father, after which his mother struggled to support the family.
3The first African American member of the lower house of Congress (the U.S. House of Representatives) was Joseph Rainey. He was elected as a Republican to represent South Carolina’s 1st congressional district and served from 1870 to 1879.
Economic Circumstances: Middle class (Born into slavery, but his father, who was a barber, was able to purchase freedom for the family)
Household: Two-parent household
4The first African American to serve as a U.S. Senator was Hiram Rhodes Revels. He was elected in 1870 during the Reconstruction era to represent the state of Mississippi.
Economic Circumstances: Middle class (Born free to free parents, his father was a Baptist preacher)
Household: Two-parent household
5The first African American state governor in the United States was Lawrence Douglas Wilder. He was elected as the governor of Virginia and served from 1990 to 1994.
Economic Circumstances: Middle class (Born to a working-class family; his parents were both hard-working and instilled the value of education)
Household: Two-parent household
6The first African American Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the USA was General Colin Powell. He served as Chairman from October 1, 1989, to September 30, 1993.
Economic Circumstances: Working class to lower middle class (Born to Jamaican immigrants in Harlem, New York, who worked in low-paying jobs)
Household: Two-parent household
7 The first African American member of the U.S. Supreme Court was Thurgood Marshall. He was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson and served on the Supreme Court from 1967 to 1991.
Economic Circumstances: Middle class (His father worked as a railroad porter and his mother was a teacher)
Household: Two-parent household
8The first African American Attorney General of the United States was Eric Holder. He served as Attorney General from 2009 to 2015.
Economic Circumstances: Middle class (Born to a Barbadian father who was a real estate broker and a New Jersey-born mother who was a teacher)
Household: Two-parent household
9The first African American to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Defense is Lloyd J. Austin III.
Economic Circumstances: Working class (Raised in a modest household; his father worked as a postal worker)
Household: Two-parent household
10The first African American to serve as Secretary of State in the United States was Colin Powell.
11The first African American Vice President of the United States is Kamala Harris. She was inaugurated on January 20, 2021.
Economic Circumstances: Middle class (Her mother was a scientist and her father was an economist)
Household: Initially two-parent, later single parent (Her parents divorced when she was seven)
12The first African American President of the United States was Barack Obama.
Economic Circumstances: Middle class (His mother was a student and his father was a government economist)
Household: Single parent (Raised mostly by his mother and grandparents after his parents separated)
13The first African American billionaire in the USA was Robert L. Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television.
Economic Circumstances: Working class to middle class (One of ten children, his father was a farmer and his mother was a schoolteacher)
Household: Two-parent household
Some Conclusions
The only real barrier for African Americans to be successful in the United States is a lack of vision, focus, ambition and hard work. In virtually every case listed these leaders rose from either extreme poverty or, at best the lower middle class. Further, in most instances, they were raised in two-parent households.
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