Jimmy CarterPresidency |
Which of Carter’s cabinet appointees became the country’s first African American female to serve in that office? |
Carter appointed Patricia Roberts Harris as secretary of housing and urban development in 1977. She left that position to become Carter’s secretary of health, education and welfare in 1979. Previously, she had served as U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg during the Johnson administration and as dean of Howard Law School. She later unsuccessfully challenged Marion Berry for the mayoral race in the District of Columbia.