Who was the first African-American cast member on Saturday Night Live?

Garrett Morris was the first African-American cast member on Saturday Night Live. He joined the original cast when the series premiered in 1975 and remained on the show through 1980.

Morris was already an accomplished singer, actor, and comedian before SNL. He studied music at Dillard University and Juilliard, performed with the Belafonte Folk Singers, and appeared in films and television productions. His casting helped establish the show's early commitment—though often imperfect—to a more diverse ensemble.

On SNL, Morris played recurring characters including Chico Escuela, a Dominican baseball player whose catchphrase was “Baseball... been berra berra good... to me.” He also appeared in the “News for the Hard of Hearing” sketches, shouting headlines as a comic sign-language interpreter parody.

A common mix-up is naming Eddie Murphy, Tracy Morgan, or Kenan Thompson. They became major Black SNL performers later: Murphy joined in 1980, Morgan in 1996, and Thompson in 2003. Morris was the pioneer who came first.