Florence Howard Pendleton (January 28, 1926 – September 10, 2020) was an American political activist who served as shadow senator from the District of Columbia. As the first African-American female elected to the U.S. Senate (unseated) in American history, her main goal was to promote the efforts of the District of Columbia to gain full voting rights, alongside her counterpart in Seat 2. She was inaugurated as the first ever United States Senator from the District of Columbia on January 3, 1991. The District of Columbia, U.S. States Senator position has been commonly called, "shadow senator" but the voting ballot and legislation designated "United States Senator."