Black Mormons
No member of the two highest governing bodies, the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, has ever been black. There have been several black members of the Quorums of the Seventy; and, as of 2013, Brazilian Helvécio Martins (a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy from 1990 to 1995), Joseph W. Sitati (from Kenya) and Edward Dube (from Zimbabwe), both members of the First Quorum of the Seventy, have served as general authorities. Other black members have served as area seventies, particularly in the Third Quorum of the Seventy, which includes the church's Africa Southeast, Africa West, Europe, and Europe East areas. There has never been a black member of the general presidencies of the Relief Society, Young Women, Primary, Young Men, or Sunday School. The first African member of the Relief Society general board was chosen in 2003, and she shared her testimony at the general meeting of the Relief Society in September 2003. In February 2014, Dorah Mkhabela, a black South African, was made a member of the Young Women General Board. She became the first black woman to give a prayer at the Women's Meetings of General Conference in September 2014.
Women in the United States Senate
Joni Ernst became the first female combat veteran to serve in the Senate when she joined in 2015. In 2016, a record 15 women were their party's nominee for Senate, 12 of whom were truly competitive. Louisiana also had a female senatorial candidate, but she did not make the run-off. Catherine Cortez Masto was among those elected in 2016; she was the first Latina Senator. In 2016, Kamala Harris was the first woman to defeat another woman from the same party, U.S. Representative Loretta Sanchez, in a general election. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire hold the distinction of being the first and second women elected both governor and senator of a state; both served as Governor of New Hampshire and served together in the Senate starting in 2017.