Joseph P. Evans (1835 – 1889) was an American Republican politician who represented Petersburg as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1871 to 1874 and in the Virginia Senate from 1874 to 1875. He was one of the first African-Americans to serve in Virginia's government. He ran as an Independent for Virginia's 4th congressional district in 1884, losing to Republican James Dennis Brady and Democrat George E. Rives.