In our modern-day America, as is true across the globe, Blacks have risen to places of immense power and their influence is felt and experienced in every genre of our human society.
The New York tri-state area is no exception as three of the four New York City citywide offices are held by Blacks: the Mayor, the Council Speaker, and the Public Advocate. New York State demonstrates even greater influence: the Lieutenant Governor – a Black man; the Attorney General – a Black woman; the Assembly Speaker, a Black man; and the Majority Leader of the Senate is a Black woman. Three of the five Borough Presidents across New York City‘s geographical landscape are Black, and so is the New York County District Attorney, the New York County Clerk and the Bronx County District Attorney.
And beyond politics and government leadership, it is important to note that a Black man leads one of the nation’s largest health and hospital systems, a Black man chairs the City of New York college and university system, a Black man heads the Ford Foundation, and the strongest voice of the Democratic Party in Washington – the minority leader of the US congress – is a Black man who hails from New York.
Here again is our list of TOP 30 BLACK INFLUENCERS, which includes power-leaders like union leader Dr. George Gresham – president of one of the nation’s largest local unions, power broker and Harlem trailblazer Dr. Lloyd Williams – president of The Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce and co-founder of HARLEM WEEK, Bishop Johnny Ray Youngblood – one of the nation’s leading Black clergy and co-pioneer of the Nehemiah Houses, and billionaire and business-music magnate Shawn Carter (Jay-Z).
HON. ADRIENNE ADAMS
- Speaker of the New York City Council
- Made history as the first Black woman to serve as Council Speaker
- Became the first woman to represent NYC’s 28th Council District (southeastern Queens)
HON. ERIC ADAMS
- Became NYC’s second Black mayor in 2022
- Previously held posts of NYS Senator and Brooklyn Borough President
- During his 20+ years in the NYPD, he rose to the rank of Captain
REV. DR. A. R. BERNARD
- Pastor of Christian Cultural Center (CCC), a 37,000-member megachurch in the Starrett City section of Brooklyn.
- Started as a small congregation in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn in 1978.
- CCC has been a consistent stop for political candidates seeking exposure, and Bernard has been called a “spiritual power broker.”
HON. ALVIN BRAGG
- First Black Manhattan District Attorney in NYC’s history
- Under his leadership, the office has been revamped to handle more violent crimes, aid victims, and reduce the number of repeat offenders
- In 2024, Bragg became the first and only District Attorney to secure a conviction of a former United States president
HON. DARCEL CLARK
- Assumed the post of Bronx District Attorney in 2016, becoming the first Black woman District Attorney in the history of New York State
- Modernized the District Attorney’s office and established alternative-to-incarceration initiatives
- Prior to being elected Bronx DA, she served as a judge for NYC Criminal Court and then on the New York Supreme Court in the Bronx
HON. YVETTE CLARKE
- Has served as U.S. Congress Member representing Brooklyn since 2007
- The daughter of former NYC Council Member Una Clarke; she won her mother’s council seat in 2001, accomplishing the first mother-to-daughter succession in Council history
- As a college student, she interned in the office of Brooklyn Congress Member Major Owens, and would later succeed him in the House of Representatives
HON. VANESSA GIBSON
- Became Bronx Borough President in 2022, the first female and first African American to hold the post
- Previously served two terms in the New York State Assembly, and in the NYC Council from 2014 to 2021, representing the Bronx
GEORGE GRESHAM
- President of 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, America’s largest healthcare union
- Started his healthcare career at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital
- Has held nearly every Union post, including organizer, vice president, and secretary-treasurer
HON. CARL HEASTIE
- Elected NYS Assembly Speaker in 2015, the first African American to serve as leader of the Chamber’s 150 members representing communities across the State of New York.
- Has served in the NYS Assembly representing the Bronx since 2001
HON. LETICIA JAMES
- Has served as NYS Attorney General since 2019, the first woman and first African American elected to serve in this position, and the first woman of color to hold statewide office in New York
- Previously served as NYC Public Advocate and as a NYC Council Member representing Brooklyn
- In 2024, she won a landmark victory in a civil fraud case against Donald Trump
JAY-Z (SHAWN CARTER)
- Became first hip-hop billionaire in 2019
- Made his fortune with his Roc Nation entertainment firm and multiple investments
- First rapper to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the first solo rapper inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
HON. HAKEEM JEFFRIES
- Serves as the first Black House Minority Leader in the U.S. House of Representatives
- Was unanimously elected Democratic Leader, the highest-ranking Democrat in the House, in 2022
- Has represented New York’s 8th congressional district in Brooklyn since 2013
ERROL LOUIS
- Political anchor for Spectrum News NY1 and host of Spectrum’s nightly “Inside City Hall” politics program
- A regular national political analyst for CNN
- Serves as the director of the Urban Reporting program at the City University of New York’s Graduate School of Journalism
H. CARL McCALL
- First African American elected to statewide office in New York; also served as U.S. Ambassador to the United States
- Former New York State comptroller and New York State Senator; democratic nominee for Governor of New York in 2002
- Named by Gov. Cuomo as Chair of the State University of New York (SUNY) Board of Trustees in October 2011
HON. GREGORY MEEKS
- High-ranking Democratic member on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs
- Has been a Democratic congressman representing Queens since 1998, and has served as the Queens County Democratic Party chair since 2019
- Previously held several prestigious posts, including Supervising Judge for the New York State Workers Compensation System
HON. MARC MORIAL
- An American political and civic giant, he has served as President of the National Urban League since 2003
- Served as a Louisiana State Senator from 1992 to 1994, and as New Orleans’ youngest mayor from 1994 to 2002
HON. DAVID PATERSON
- First African American governor in the history of New York State
- Prior to assuming governorship, he served as New York State’s lieutenant governor
- The Harlem State Senate seat he won in 1985 was once held by his father, former New York Secretary of State Basil Paterson
HON. CRYSTAL PEOPLES-STOKES
- Has served as NYS Assembly Majority Leader since 2018, the first woman and the first African American to hold the position
- Has been an Assembly Member since 2003
- Served in the upstate New York Erie County Legislature
MICHAEL PUGH
- Became CEO of Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) in October 2023
- Spent more than a decade as CEO of the Harlem-based Carver Federal Savings Bank, the nation’s largest publicly traded African American-operated bank
- Has volunteered on numerous boards, including The Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce, The New York Bankers Association, The Economic Club of New York, and the Society for Financial Education & Professional Development, to name a few
DR. PATRICIA RAMSEY
- Appointed the sixth president of Medgar Evers College by the City University of New York (CUNY) board of trustees
- First woman and first scientist to serve as president of Medgar Evers College
- Distinguished as a “National Role Model” by Minority Access, Inc.
ARVA RICE
- President and CEO of the New York Urban League (NYUL)
- More than 15 years of experience in the non-profit arena
- Previously served as executive director of Project Enterprise and as the interim chair of the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB)
HON. DONOVAN RICHARDS
- Elected Borough President of Queens in 2022
- Former City Council member representing southern Queens
- Became a lifelong anti-gun advocate after losing a childhood friend to gun violence
REV. AL SHARPTON
- Founded the National Action Network in 1992, now the most prominent national civil rights organization, which addresses criminal justice reform, police accountability, education, health, technology and other issues
- In 2011 became host of the MSNBC weekend news program “Politics Nation”
- Ran for the Democratic nomination for U.S. President in 2004
HON. ANDREA STEWART-COUSINS
- Serves as Majority Leader of the New York State Senate
- Previously held position of Senate Democratic Leader, the first woman to hold the post in the history of the New York State Legislature
- Held the position of Acting NYS Lieutenant Governor after Kathy Hochul (the previous lieutenant governor) ascended to the post of governor after Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation
ELINOR TATUM
- Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of the New York Amsterdam News, the oldest and largest Black newspaper in the Northeast region
- Appointed to head the Amsterdam News after serving in several high-level positions at the paper
- One of the youngest publishers in the long history of the Black press in America
HON. WILLIAM “BILL” THOMPSON, JR.
- Has served as Chief Administrative Officer/Senior Managing Director for Siebert Brandford Shank since 2010
- Serves as Chair of the City University of New York’s Board of Trustees
- Served as NYC Comptroller from 2002 to 2009, and ran for New York City Mayor in 2009 and 2013
DARREN WALKER
- President of the $15 billion-endowed Ford Foundation
- Under his leadership, the Ford Foundation divested fossil fuels investments, seeking investments in renewable and alternate energy to address climate change
- Former COO of Harlem’s Abyssinian Development Corporation
LLOYD WILLIAMS
- President and CEO of The Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce, recognized by media as one of the most active business entities in the nation
- Chairman and co-founder of HARLEM WEEK, Inc., the multi-faceted, largest tri-state region cultural festival that marked its 50th anniversary in 2024
- Serves as chair of the President’s Executive Board of The City College of New York
KEITH WRIGHT
- Chair of the New York County Democratic Committee since 2009
- Elected to the NYS Assmebly in 1992 and re-elected 11 times
- Serves as Director of Strategic Planning for Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP
BISHOP JOHNNY RAY YOUNGBLOOD
- Pastor of Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church since 2001
- Previously spent 35 years at St. Paul Community Baptist Church; his achievements chronicled in Samuel Gary Freedman’s award-winning book “Upon This Rock”
- Under his leadership, Mt. Pisgah has become the headquarters for Project Safe Surrender, a social justice program
