John Willis Menard was the first Black man ever elected to the U.S. House of Representatives though he was never seated in Congress. In November...
John Willis Menard*
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Republican
Hiram Rhodes Revels
In February 1870, Senator Hiram Revels became the first Black American to serve in Congress when he filled the seat of former Mississippi senator...
Joseph Hayne Rainey
Congressman Joseph Rainey, born into slavery, was the first Black representative from South Carolina and the first African American to serve in the...
Jefferson Franklin Long
Congressman Jefferson Long, born into slavery, was the first Black representative of Georgia and the only Black American to represent Georgia in the...
Benjamin Sterling Turner
Congressman Benjamin Turner, the first Black representative from Alabama, served in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 1871 to March 1873...
Alonzo Jacob Ransier
Congressman Alonzo Ransier represented South Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1873 to 1875 (43rd Congress). He served on the...
James Thomas Rapier
Congressman James Rapier was one of three Black representatives to Congress from Alabama during Reconstruction. He served for one term, from 1873 to...
Richard Harvey Cain
Congressman Richard Cain represented South Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1873 to 1875 and from 1877 to 1879 (43rd and 45th...
John Roy Lynch
Congressman John Lynch was the first Black American member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi and the youngest member of the 43rd...
Blanche Kelso Bruce
Senator Blanche Bruce escaped slavery at the outset of the Civil War and served as a Mississippi Senator from 1875 to 1881 (44th-46th Congresses)....
Robert Carlos De Large
Congressman Robert De Large was born into slavery and later served in the U.S. House of Representatives as a representative of South Carolina from...
Robert Brown Elliott
Congressman Robert Elliott represented South Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1871 to 1874 (42nd-43rd Congresses), when he...
Josiah Thomas Walls
Congressman Josiah Walls was the first Black representative to the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida. He served from 1871 to 1873 and from...
Henry Plummer Cheatham
Congressman Henry Cheatham represented North Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1889 to 1893 (51st-52nd Congresses) and was a member...
John Mercer Langston
Congressman John Langston was the first Black American to represent Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives. He served part of one term...
Thomas Ezekiel Miller
After successfully contesting another candidate's election, Congressman Thomas Miller represented South Carolina in the U.S. House of...
George Henry White
Congressman George White, enslaved until the age of 10, was the last Black American to serve in Congress until 1928. He represented North Carolina...
Oscar Stanton De Priest
Congressman Oscar De Priest was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1929 to represent Illinois' 1st Congressional District. De Priest, a...
Charles Edmund Nash
A former sergeant for the Union Army, Congressman Charles Nash was the first Black American to represent Louisiana in the U.S. House of...
Edward William Brooke III
Senator Edward Brooke represented Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate from 1967 to 1979 (90th-95th Congresses). Before coming to the Senate, Brooke...
Jeremiah Haralson
Congressman Jeremiah Haralson, enslaved until 1865, was one of three Black Americans from Alabama who served in the U.S. House of Representatives...