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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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...
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...
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...
Arthur Wergs Mitchell
Congressman Arthur W. Mitchell was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1934 after defeating Oscar De Priest for his seat and served from...
Ralph Harold Metcalfe
Congressman Ralph Metcalfe represented Illinois' 1st Congressional District from 1971 until his death on October 10, 1978 (92nd-95th Congresses)....
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...
William Levi Dawson
Congressman William Dawson served in the U.S. House of Representatives for nearly three decades. Dawson, a well-established politician in Chicago,...
Parren James Mitchell
Congressman Parren Mitchell served Maryland's 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1971 to 1987 (92nd-99th...
John Adams Hyman
Congressman John Hyman, enslaved until 1865, was the first Black American to represent North Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives, serving...
Adam Clayton Powell Jr.
Congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr. was an American Baptist pastor and politician who represented New York City in the U.S. House of Representatives...
Ronald V. Dellums
Congressman Ronald Dellums represented California's 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1971 to 1998 (92nd-105th...
Robert Smalls
Congressman Robert Smalls represented South Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1875 to 1879, 1882 to 1883, and from 1884 to 1887...
Charles Coles Diggs Jr.
Congressman Charles Diggs was the first African American to represent Michigan in the U.S. House of Representatives. He served the 13th District of...