Patricia Roberts Harris (1924-1985) had a lifetime of firsts. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Howard University in Washington, DC. After graduating with honors from Washington University's Law School in 1960, she was admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court and the District of Columbia bar. Patricia was granted tenure as a professor of law at Howard University in 1963. In 1969, she was named the Dean of the university's School of Law, becoming the first African American woman to head a law school in the United States.
Patricia was appointed as the Ambassador to Luxembourg by President Lyndon Johnson, becoming the first African American woman to be chosen for an ambassadorship. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed her as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Patricia was the first African American woman to hold a Cabinet post. She would eventually become the Secretary of Health and Human Services in 1979.
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