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 from 1875 to 1877 (44th Congress). He served on the Manufactures Committee. In his early twenties, Hyman worked for a jeweler who taught him to read and write. He then received an elementary education after emancipation in 1865. Hyman became active in politics as a young adult and served in North Carolina’s State Senate for six years before his election to the U.S. House of Representatives. Although he introduced several bills on behalf of his constituents, none made it past the committee stage.