# Who was the first African-American President of the United States(on TV or movies) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 19, 2009, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947 "2009-01-19T04:51:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947/1 "2009-01-19T04:51:47Z")
I realize this might be better in Cafe Society. Now that we have a real African-American President, I wondered who was the first such person in Hollywood. I know Morgan Freeman and Dennis Haysbert have been POTUS on screen, but I can’t imagine they were the first. I imagine that the first would have been in the late '60’s at the earliest. It was probably the '70’s or maybe even the '80’s. Maybe a show like “Twilight Zone” might have tried to attempt it as a commentary about the Civil Rights movement, but I can’t imagine the network would have aired something like that. Does anyone know the answer? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947/2 "2009-01-19T04:59:48Z")
Since this is specifically about TV and movies, it’s probably better for CS than GQ. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947/3 "2009-01-19T05:00:16Z")
I think it was Sammie Davis Jr. in some film. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947/4 "2009-01-19T05:03:21Z")
Rufus Jones for President. It was a musical short in 1933. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947/5 "2009-01-19T05:04:21Z")
James Earl Jones played a black president in [The Man](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068912/) in 1972. He’s President pro tem of the Senate who becomes President when an accident kills the President and Speaker of the House, and the VP declines the office due to ill health. It’s based on a novel by Irving Wallace; Rod Serling did the screenplay. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947/6 "2009-01-19T05:15:02Z")
First female president: Polly Bergen in _[Kisses for My President](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0058266/)_ (1964). ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947/7 "2009-01-19T05:18:15Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > James Earl Jones played a black president in [The Man](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068912/) in 1972. He’s President pro tem of the Senate who becomes President when an accident kills the President and Speaker of the House, and the VP declines the office due to ill health. > > It’s based on a novel by Irving Wallace; Rod Serling did the screenplay. Did you see the [tag line](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=10711900)? > [@](#): > > The first black President of the United States. > First they swore him in. > Then they swore to get him. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947/8 "2009-01-19T05:41:59Z")
> [@Ataraxy](#): > > Maybe a show like “Twilight Zone” might have tried to attempt it as a commentary about the Civil Rights movement, but I can’t imagine the network would have aired something like that. > [@Colibri](#): > > James Earl Jones played a black president in [The Man](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068912/) in 1972. He’s President pro tem of the Senate who becomes President when an accident kills the President and Speaker of the House, and the VP declines the office due to ill health. > > It’s based on a novel by Irving Wallace; Rod Serling did the screenplay. I knew I was on to something when I though of “The Twilight Zone” as an example of a show that might have tried to have a Black President. It sounds like something Rod Serling would be interested in. Although he appears to have beaten by Rufus Jones by almost 40 years. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947/9 "2009-01-19T05:57:54Z")
A related question: what about in literature? Irving Wallace’s book that “The Man” is based on is a possibility, but it was probably before that. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947/10 "2009-01-19T06:12:19Z")
Heinlein had a short story, “Over the Rainbow”, which featured a black female president. She was originally a movie star, put on the vice-presidential ticket basically as eye candy, but the president died in office and she actually proved to be better at the job than he was. I’m not sure what year it was written, though. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947/11 "2009-01-19T06:13:32Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > First female president: Polly Bergen in _[Kisses for My President](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0058266/)_ (1964). And let’s not forget Gracie Allen’s run for the White House in 1940. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947/12 "2009-01-19T06:24:33Z")
_[O Presidente Negro](http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,846093,00.html)_ (The Negro President) (1925), by Brazilian novelist Monteiro Lobato (1882-1948), is about the first black U.S. president — in the year 2228. [Abstract](http://www.eduref.org/plweb-cgi/fastweb?getdoc+ericdb2+ericdb+1030886+1795+wAAA+(culture)). ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947/13 "2009-01-19T07:00:44Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > I think it was Sammie Davis Jr. in some film. > [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > Rufus Jones for President. It was a musical short in 1933. Well, yeah, but it was a dream sequence, played strictly for laughs. The “president” was a child whose mother bought votes with pork chops and his administration’s first actions included removing locks from chicken coops and appointing an inspector of watermelons. It ends with the mother singing “stay on your own side of the fence.” He sure could [dance](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yes7zGJyesY&feature=related), though. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947/14 "2009-01-19T07:25:17Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > _[O Presidente Negro](http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,846093,00.html)_ (The Negro President) (1925), by Brazilian novelist Monteiro Lobato (1882-1948), is about the first black U.S. president — in the year 2228. [Abstract](http://www.eduref.org/plweb-cgi/fastweb?getdoc+ericdb2+ericdb+1030886+1795+wAAA+(culture)). But [Slate](http://www.slate.com/id/2200417/?from=rss) says “on the morning Roy is set to assume the presidency, he is found dead in his office.” I don’t know if this means before he was sworn in or after the inauguration but before conducting any official business. If the former, he was not president. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947/15 "2009-01-19T15:13:37Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > Well, yeah, but it was a dream sequence, played strictly for laughs. The “president” was a child whose mother bought votes with pork chops and his administration’s first actions included removing locks from chicken coops and appointing an inspector of watermelons. It ends with the mother singing “stay on your own side of the fence.” He sure could [dance](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yes7zGJyesY&feature=related), though. This is true. No doubt it was a long way from progressive. On the other hand, I don’t think it is that much worse than the Chris Rock movie. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947/16 "2009-01-19T20:58:35Z")
Not an answer but as a historical note, back in 1961-1962 _Treasure Chest_ comics (which were written for adolescent Catholics) ran a months-long story about the fictional Gov. Pettigrew of New York and his run for President. The twist, of course, was the Pettigrew was African-American. ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947/17 "2009-01-19T21:19:40Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > First female president: Polly Bergen in _[Kisses for My President](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0058266/)_ (1964). \They Are Wrong\ [Project Moon Base, 1953](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Moon_Base) Ernestine Barrier is Madame President I’m sure someone will beat that (and yes, I did see it on MST3K). ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947/18 "2009-01-19T22:50:36Z")
> [@Ataraxy](#): > > A related question: what about in literature? Irving Wallace’s book that “The Man” is based on is a possibility, but it was probably before that. The move _The Man_ linked above was based on Wallace’s novel. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947/19 "2009-01-19T23:04:09Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > The move _The Man_ linked above was based on Wallace’s novel. I understood that. I was wondering if the book that the Man was based upon was the first book to feature an African-American President, but I figured it was not. The first book featuring an African-American President probably came long before Irving Wallace. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947/20 "2009-01-19T23:14:58Z")
How about the first to portray the President as black, and give no impression that it’s anything but normal? (I’m thinking along the lines of Morgan Freeman in _Deep Impact_.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947.md?page=2)