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, [a] thus making her the first African-American to hold two different cabinet positions. [5]

Patricia Roberts Harris Harris, shown testifying before the Senate when she was U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, was the first Black woman U.S. ambassador as well as the first Black woman to serve as a cabinet secretary.

She was the first African American HHS secretary and just the second black HUD secretary, as well as the second woman to lead either of those executive departments. Furthermore, 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.

Patricia Roberts Harris was the first African-American woman and the first woman of color to serve in a presidential cabinet when she was named Secretary of Housing and Urban Development by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. [3]

May 29, 2018 · In the late 1970s Patricia Roberts Harris made history when she became the first black woman ever to serve as a U.S. Cabinet secretary.

Mar 2, 2021 · In 1965, following Lyndon B. Johnson’s victory in the 1964 Presidential Election, Patricia Roberts Harris was appointed as the United States Ambassador to Luxembourg — becoming the first Black woman to hold the position of ambassador.

From early in her life as a brilliant scholar at Howard, she went on to become the first African American woman to serve as a United States ambassador and later the first African American woman to serve as a Cabinet Secretary.

Mar 29, 2017 · In Her Own Words: The First African-American Woman to Become a Cabinet Secretary At her confirmation hearing, GW alumna Patricia Roberts Harris countered critiques that she was not sufficiently ‘of the people.’

Feb 28, 2023 · Patricia Roberts Harris was the first Black woman to serve as an envoy for the United States, as a law school dean, and in a U.S. presidential cabinet. This article discusses her career and achievements.

Mar 18, 2024 · Mary McLeod Bethune acted as leader of the Black Cabinet. Bethune was a friend and confidante of Eleanor Roosevelt and FDR held her in high regard. She used her unique connection to the Roosevelts to bring race-related issues directly to the President.