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The first African Americans to serve in the Congress were Republicans elected during the Reconstruction Era. After the 13th and 14th Amendments granted freedom and citizenship to enslaved people , freedmen gained political representation in the Southern United States for the first time.
Nevertheless, many African Americans served in its legislature and Mississippi was the only state that elected African American candidates to the U.S. Senate during the Reconstruction era; a total of 37 African Americans served in the Senate and 117 served in the House. [59] [60]
Charles Lewis Mitchell was the other African American elected as a state legislator in Massachusetts (1866). He served a one-year term in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. [2] During the American Civil War he served in the 55th Massachusetts Colored Volunteer Infantry and lost a foot during the Battle of Honey Hill. [3]
He served South Carolina's 1st congressional district beginning in 1870 during the Reconstruction era following the American Civil War. The first African-American woman to serve as a representative was Shirley Chisholm from New York's 12th congressional district in 1969 during the Civil Rights Movement. Many African-American members of the ...
The Civil Rights Act of 1875 was one of the last major acts of Congress and Grant to preserve Reconstruction and equality for African Americans. [ 183 ] [ 184 ] The initial bill was created by Senator Charles Sumner .
At the age of 26 in 1872, Lynch was elected as the youngest member of the US Congress from Mississippi's 6th congressional district, as part of the first generation of African-American Congressmen. (This district was created by the state legislature in 1870.) He was the only African American elected from Mississippi for a century.
Pages in category "African-American politicians during the Reconstruction Era" The following 200 pages are in this category, out of approximately 378 total. This list may not reflect recent changes. (previous page) *
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., the highest-ranking African American in Congress, took to the House floor Wednesday and delivered a blistering speech, giving numerous examples of ...