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 and Confederate president Jefferson Davis. Revels served in the U.S. Senate for the remainder of the 41st Congress (1870-1871) and was assigned to the Education and Labor and District of Columbia committees. Revels was not an outspoken advocate for racial equality. Still, he opposed an amendment to keep schools segregated in Washington, D.C., and assisted Black mechanics who were prohibited from working at the Washington Navy Yard because of their racial identity.