Francis E. Rivers (died July 28, 1975) was an American lawyer and judge who served in the New York State Assembly. He was a Republican.^[1] His father, David Foote Rivers, was a state representative in Tennessee.

He was the first African American to serve on the City Court of New York City (now the New York City Civil Court).^[2] In 1932, W. E. B. Du Bois wrote to Rivers seeking information about Dr. Hinton of Boston who Du Bois wanted to nominate for a Spingarn Medal.^[3] In 1966 he presented an award to Thurgood Marshall.^[4]

Several prominent members of the American Bar Association threatened to quit when Rivers was denied membership in the organization, which did not have any African American members.^[5][6] He defeated incumbent Abraham Grenthal in the 1929 election for state Assembly^[7] and served in the 153rd New York State Legislature in 1930.

• List of African-American jurists
• List of first minority male lawyers and judges in New York
• African-American officeholders during and following the Reconstruction era