Elected Officials

February 23, 2008

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Profile America for the 23rd day of Black History Month. Across the nation, African-Americans are increasingly serving in elected positions. Success at the polls for blacks at the national and state level draw the most attention — such as Edward Brooke of Massachusetts as the first black senator, Douglas Wilder of Virginia as the first African-American governor and congresswoman Shirley Chisholm of New York as the first black presidential candidate. However, the greatest increase has been at the city and county level. In 1970, there were 715 African-Americans serving in local governments. Following the elections of 2002, that number had reached almost 5,800. Similar advances have occurred in the fields of law enforcement and education. This special edition of Profile America for Black History Month is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.