10. BARBARA LEE, Congresswoman, California

Barbara Lee got into politics volunteering for the Black Panther Party. She ran Bobby Seale’s 1973 campaign for Mayor of Oakland, CA. She was the only member of Congress to vote against the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists Act in 2001, because she believed that it gave the President too much power. Because of the vote, Lee faced death threats and was ostracized within her own political party. Lee was one of the driving forces in the Congressional Black Caucus’s recent trip to Cuba and has urged Obama to go to the recent U.N. conference on racism and expressed disappointment when he did not attend.

Watch Barbara Lee Show Foresight in Opposing Giving Bush Military Powers

9.ADRIAN FENTY, Mayor Washington D.C.

Adien Fenty is biracial, like Barack Obama. He was born and raised in D.C. and graduated from Howard Law School. As a mayor, Fenty has fought against guns along with New York mayor, Mike Bloomberg and campaigned for education and summer jobs for urban youth. Fenty was one of the first Black politicians to endorse Obama in his presidential campaign and ate with him at the historic Ben’s Chili Bowl shortly before Obama was inaugurated.

Conversations With Bakari: Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty

8. DEVAL PATRICK, Governor, Massachusetts

Deval was born on the South Side of Chicago and grew up in the projects. Through the non profit, A Better Chance (ABC), he was able to attend the prestigious private school, Milton Academy which lead to Harvard College and later Harvard Law. Patrick is also a close friend and confidant of President Barack Obama and the two often consult and share opinions with each other. Patrick’s teenage daughter recently came out as a lesbian and Patrick has openly supported her as well as the struggle for gay rights.

7.  JOHN LEWIS, Congressman, Georgia

John Lewis is a civil rights hero and he has used the same strength determination and wisdom from the movement as a politician. John Lewis risked his political credibility when he compared the anger and racism at the McCain/Palin rallies to those of racist politician, George Wallace. He also has been a valiant crusader against Bush and Cheney, protesting the Iraq war and going as far as calling for the impeachment of George Bush.

Watch John Lewis’ Speech at the DNC, Connecting MLK to Barack Obama

6. BOBBY L. RUSH, Congressman, Illinois
Former Black Panther, Bobby Rush did what Hillary Clinton and John McCain couldn’t do; He beat Barack Obama in an election. Rush has also been active on the international front and was arrested for protesting the genocide in Darfur outside the Sudanese embassy. He also was one of seven congressmen to visit Cuba recently to help mend ties.

5. MAXINE WATERS, Congresswoman, California

Maxine Waters is another progressive black representative with a long history of political activism. She held the government accountable for the CIA’s involvement in the Los Angeles crack epidemic which was documented in Gary Webb’s book, The Dark Triangle. She also is a strong critic of the Iraq war and an advocate for the poor and underprivileged.

Watch Maxine Waters Question the CIA on Drug Trafficking

Check Out A Gallery of Our Top 10 Black Politicians

4. CORY BOOKER, Mayor, Newark, New Jersey

Cory Booker is a Rhodes scholar who played football at Stanford and has a law degree from Yale. He stayed in the notorious Brick towers projects for 8 years from 1998 to 2006 in sign of solidarity for his constituents. AS Mayor of Newark, Booker has done a lot to reduce crime and has held daily office hours for his constituents.

Watch a Profile of Cory Booker

3. DONNA BRAZILE, Political Strategist, DNC

Donna Brazile is one of the best political commentators on television. She is also a big time strategist for the Democratic party. She was Al Gore’s campaign manager in 2000 and has continued to work with the DNC. She is always on the Sunday morning talk show circuit standing up to Republican bullies and Obama haters.

Watch Donna Brazile Talk About Barack Obama

2. JOHN CONYERS JR., Congressman, Michigan

John Conyers is another politician with a long history in Congress. He has a long and storied history of going against Republicans. He made Nixon’s enemies list and has been going at it with Republicans ever since. He was an opponent of Bush and Cheney’s  and even tried to subpoena Karl Rove.

1. Barack Obama, President of the United States

I’m sure you guys have heard the story of Barack Obama again and again. For the people out the who say Barack Obama is not black, here’s where you’re wrong.

Top 10 Reason Obama is Black

News One Links