There has been one Black president of the United States so far: Barack Obama, who served from 2009 to 2017.

Some articles, books, and forum discussions speculate that earlier presidents (like Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, or others) may have had African ancestry, and talk about “five” or “seven” Black presidents before Obama. These claims are based on rumor, contested genealogies, or modern racial re-interpretations and are not accepted as fact by mainstream historians.

In widely recognized historical and official records, the count of Black U.S. presidents is:

  • Barack Obama – first and (so far) only Black president.