2016-10-06 Thu

On 6th October 1965 the United States of America truly became a free nation. This day is marked as a very important day in the history of the nation and its people. This day is regarded as the golden moment, as Patricia Harris became the first African American U.S. ambassador.

Black women have always served a critical role in the African American community. Patricia Roberts Harris is one of those quiet warriors to quietly break the barriers to open doors that were once closed to people of colour.

In October of 1965, President Lyndon Johnson appointed Harris ambassador to Luxembourg, making her the first African American woman to be chosen as a United States envoy. When her diplomatic role was over, she returned to Washington, D.C., and became the first woman to serve as Dean of Howard University's School of Law.

The election of Jimmy Carter in 1976 thrust Harris into the spotlight, again for another “first.” Carter selected Harris to become Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Again Harris made history, this time by not only becoming the first African American woman to become a Cabinet Secretary, but also the first to be in the line of succession to the Presidency.

In January, 2000, the U.S. Postal Service honoured Ms. Harris with a commemorative postage stamp bearing her portrait. This stamp became a part of “Black Heritage” series.