# 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:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**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, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947/21 "2009-01-19T23:57:27Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > 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_.) Seaquest played on Colin Powels breif popularity at the time and had him as a former president. I think you find black presidents a lot in science fiction writing. It is a good shorthand for, “the world has moved beyond petty race differences” without having to come out and say it. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947/22 "2009-01-20T00:04:34Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > Seaquest played on Colin Powels breif popularity at the time and had him as a former president. > > I think you find black presidents a lot in science fiction writing. It is a good shorthand for, “the world has moved beyond petty race differences” without having to come out and say it. Yes, but is it a lesson the world of orange robots and blue robots will ever learn? ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947/23 "2009-01-20T00:08:07Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > 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_.) Probably not the first, the president was black in _The Fifth Element_, and nobody seemed to give a rats ass about it. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947/24 "2009-01-20T00:10:47Z")
> [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > Probably not the first, the president was black in _The Fifth Element_, and nobody seemed to give a rats ass about it. Well, Corbin’s mom thought he was an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947/25 "2009-01-20T00:29:47Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > 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. It obviously was written specifically for [_Expanded Universe,_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expanded_Universe_(Heinlein)) so I would say around 1980. ---
**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 20, 2009, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947/26 "2009-01-20T00:38:09Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > Seaquest played on Colin Powels breif popularity at the time and had him as a former president. > > I think you find black presidents a lot in science fiction writing. It is a good shorthand for, “the world has moved beyond petty race differences” without having to come out and say it. What are they going to do now? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947/27 "2009-01-20T01:06:29Z")
> [@SirRay](#): > > \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). 1924’s silent comedy, [The Last Man on Earth](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Man_on_Earth_(1924_film)). A plague killed all men over the age of 12. The Presidentress is one of several women fighting over the last surviving man (a hillbilly from the Ozarks). Now that women are running the government the White House has become overun with cats and it’s lawn is overgrown. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947/28 "2009-01-20T03:12:24Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > And let’s not forget Gracie Allen’s run for the White House in 1940. Heh. On the Surprise Party ticket, no less. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947/29 "2009-01-20T05:37:44Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > What are they going to do now? 😃 Black women and Hispanic and Asian men, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947/30 "2009-01-20T06:37:08Z")
I envision a story about the first gay president and his First Man. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-african-american-president-of-the-united-states-on-tv-or-movies/481947.md?page=1)