February 25, 1870 - First African-American U.S. Senator Sworn In
Hiram R. Revels, a Republican from Mississippi, takes the oath of office as the first African-American member of the U.S. Senate. Revels, a former educator and minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, served in the state senate in Mississippi. Once the state is readmitted to the Union, its legislature elects Revels to fill the fourteen months remaining in an unexpired U.S. Senate term.
Related resources:
- Audio: Raising The Confederate Flag: A Salute to Patriotism or Racism (Justice Talking)
- Hiram R. Revels (Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress)
- Black History Month (History Channel)
