Famous African-American Leaders

The African-American community, constituting about 13.4 percent of the United States population, is no doubt a prominent community in the US. This community has produced some famous leaders who have been guiding the country for a last few decades.

Barack Obama

Barack Obama is the current President of the United States. From a civil rights attorney in Chicago, Barack Obama has come a long way, to become the 44th President of the United States. He was born on 4th August, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. He earned a BA in International Relationships from the Columbia University in 1983, and went on to get a JD, Juris Doctor, from the Harvard Law School in 1991. Obama married Michelle Robinson, from Chicago, on 18th October, 1992. The couple have 2 daughters, Malia and Sasha. Barack Obama's political career started when he succeeded Alice Palmer, as the Senator from Illinois's 13th District, in 1996. Later, he was re-elected in 1998, and again re-elected in 2002.

In 2003, when the Democrats regained majority, he was appointed Chairman of Illinois Senate's Health and Human Services Committee. Barack Obama became only the third Senator of African-American origin to be elected by popular vote in United States history, when he garnered 70% votes in the 2004 general elections. Barack Obama declared his candidacy for the 2008 Democratic nomination in February 2007. After getting the better of Democrat Hillary Clinton, Obama went on to defeat the Republican candidate John McCain to become the first ever Afro-American President of the United States of America.

Colin Powell
Colin Powell is an American statesman and former General of the United States Army. He was appointed the 65th United States Secretary of State, between the period 2001 and 2005, during the George Bush regime. He was born on 5th April, 1937, in New York, United States. Powell earned a Bachelor's degree from the City College of New York and later went on to earn the MBA degree from the George Washington University. Colin Powell was the first person of African-American origin to serve as Secretary of the State. Prior to this, he also served as the National Security Advisor, from 1987 to 1989, during the Ronald Reagan regime. Before retirement from the US Army, he also served as the 12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. A moderate Republican, Colin Powell was unanimously selected by the Senate. Throughout his career, he was admired for his willingness to support the centrist as well as liberal causes.

Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice is a diplomat, security expert and a professor from the United States. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, from 2005 to 2009, thus becoming the first woman of African-American origin to serve as the Secretary of State. At the same time, she became only the second woman as well as second Afro-American to hold this position in the US government. Condoleezza Rice was born on 14th November, 1954, in Birmingham, Alabama. She completed her BA in Political Science from the University of Denver, in 1974. She went on to get her Master's degree from the University of Notre Dame, in 1975, and a PhD from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, affiliated to the University of Denver, in 1981.

Initially a Democrat, Condoleezza Rice shifted loyalties to the Republicans in 1982, owing to strong opposition to Democrat President Jimmy Carter's foreign policy. After working as a professor of Political Science at the Stanford University for a brief period, Condoleezza Rice joined the Bush administration. During the regime of George Bush, Rice served as the National Security Advisor, from 2001 to 2005, and then as the Secretary of State till 20th January, 2009.

Yet another common thing between these leaders is the fact that they aren't just influencing the politics of their country, but are also influencing the World politics since a long time.