HIRAM REVELS (1822-1901) was the first black U.S. senator.
Born free in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Revels was the son of a free father of mixed heritage and a black mother who was later emancipated. Since all blacks were forbidden from learning to read and write, Revels was secretly taught by a black woman.
When he was 15, his family moved to Lincolnton, North Carolina, where he worked as a barber in his brother’s shop. In 1844, he moved to Indiana and began studying at Beech Grove Seminary, a Quaker school. It was during this time that Revels became involved with the teachings of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, a significant religious and educational force in the black community. The following year, Revels began studying for the ministry in Drake County, Ohio. He was ordained a minister of the AME Church later that year and was an elder in 1849.
In the early 1850s, Revels married Phoeba A. Bass, and they raised six daughters. Revels began preaching in several states, and he later recalled, “At times, I met with a great deal of opposition. I was imprisoned in Missouri in 1854 for preaching the gospel to Negroes, though I was never subjected to violence.” He attended Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, and in 1857, he became principal of a private school in Baltimore, Maryland.
When the Civil War began, Revels helped organized Union regiments and recruit soldiers of the first black regiment in Maryland. He established a school for freedmen in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1863 and worked with the U.S. Provost Marshall to handle the affairs of former slaves. In 1865, Revels joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, which offered more opportunities for his work in the South. He and his family settled in Natchez, Mississippi, where he founded schools for black children. Following the Civil War, the Reconstruction Act of 1867 required Southern states to write new constitutions permitting blacks to vote and hold public office. They ratified the Fourteenth Amendment, and on July 28, 1868, blacks were officially recognized as citizens of the United States.
Later that year, Revels was appointed for a term on the Natchez City Board of Aldermen. During the first session of the Mississippi Legislature in January 1868, Revels was asked to open the session with prayer. According to John R. Lynch, a black political figure from Natchez, “That prayer— one of the most impressive and eloquent prayers that had ever been delivered in the Senate Chamber—made Revels a United States Senator. He made a profound impression upon all who heard him. It impressed those who heard it that Revels was not only a man of great natural ability but that he was also a man of superior attainments.” The following year, Lynch encouraged Revels to enter as a candidate for state senator, representing Adams County. Revels accepted the nomination at the Republican Caucus in December 1869.
In January 1870, the Mississippi Legislature elected Revels as a U.S. Senator 81 to 15 to fill the last year of the unexpired term of one of the state’s two senators. Revels’ election was met with opposition from Southern Democrats who cited the Dred Scott Decision which was considered by many to have been a central cause of the Civil War. They argued that no black man was a citizen prior to the 14th Amendment’s ratification, and that since election to the Senate required nine years’ prior citizenship, Revels claimed he could not be seated, having been a citizen by law for only two. Supporters of Revels countered that the Dred Scott Decision only applied to blacks who were of pure African blood; Revels was of black and white ancestry. They said he was therefore exempt and had been a citizen all his life. The New York Herald predicted Revels would never be allowed to take his Senate seat, but he was seated on February 25, 1870, and he held office until March 3, 1871, becoming the first black U.S. senator. During his short tenure, he introduced several bills, presented a number of petitions and served on the Committee on the District of Columbia and the Committee on Education. After his term in the Senate, Revels became president of Alcorn College from 1871 until 1873.
Revels took a leave of absence from Alcorn to serve as Mississippi’s interim Secretary of State. He reentered the ministry as the pastor of the Holly Springs, Mississippi ME Church. On Nov. 6, 1875, Revels wrote a letter to President Ulysses S. Grant denouncing Mississippi Governor Adelbert Ames and the Carpetbaggers for manipulating the black vote for personal benefit and for keeping wartime hatreds alive:
Since reconstruction, the masses of my people have been, as it were, enslaved in mind by unprincipled adventurers, who, caring nothing for country, were willing to stoop to anything no matter how infamous, to secure power to themselves, and perpetuate it….. My people have been told by these schemers, when men have been placed on the ticket who were notoriously corrupt and dishonest, that they must vote for them; that the salvation of the party depended upon it; that the man who scratched a ticket was not a Republican. This is only one of the many means these unprincipled demagogues have devised to perpetuate the intellectual bondage of my people…. The bitterness and hate created by the late civil strife has, in my opinion, been obliterated in this state, except perhaps in some localities, and would have long since been entirely obliterated, were it not for some unprincipled men who would keep alive the bitterness of the past, and inculcate a hatred between the races, in order that they may aggrandize themselves by office, and its emoluments, to control my people, the effect of which is to degrade them.
In 1876, Revels returned to Alcorn and served there until his retirement in 1882. For a while, he served as editor of the Southwestern Christian Advocate and taught theology at Shaw College, now known as Rust College. Revels died January 16, 1901, of a stroke while attending a church conference.
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Concrete Loop features ‘Black History Spotlights’ each week honoring black people who have played pivotal roles in history. submissions are welcome.
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Oh WOW! Im totally impressed! Why don’t we learn about these people in school
FIRST!
Wow………We are rarely recognize in school books these blackhistory spotlight helps out really good…….Thanks CL
very interesting… thank you!
You can always learn something from these spotlights. Interesting.
These are so informative, just amazing.
Interesting to know that black people have only been considered citzen for 140 years . It’s great to see how far we have come but sad to see how far we go to go . Good job cl!
A for Alcorn… S-T-A-T-E .. U-ni-ver-si-ty. A-S-U. Go Revels!
This was wonderful! Never heard of him and that’s a damn shame! Good looking out!!
coo. It’s interesting how he went back and forth between politics and the ministry.
I am glad you spotlighted Hiram Revels!! I am a proud Alcornite, and I learned all about him during my freshman year at Alcorn State University!!! Go Braves!!!!
I know of him but not many of my friends do. You guys do a great job at these post.
I grew up AME its good to read about this history…
Great work J. Dakar!
And he was a F@AM
P.H.A. baby, all day
Free and Accepted MASON
Altair Lodge #486
BJ.a.k.a. PMdon
ALRIGHT DAKAR…YOU KNOW WE NEED TO BE TALKING ABOUT THIS BAILOUT PLAN!!!
If that was taught in school,,,,,,the AA would have look at life in a differernt perspective,,, think about it we would be high on the food chain,,,, not handed scrapes,,,, Agree or Disagree
That’s why this is my Favorite Website … Good Piece Angel!!
Im sitting here like WOW ! I never knew that .. “go head ” Concreteloop!!
Ah! I remember learning about this person is Mississippi History Class in 7th grade. I believe there is a dorm/ building named after him at Alcorn State University ( Revels Hall) if I’m not mistaken. There is so much black history that doesn’t get taught in the school system as it should.
Extremely Interesting!
Thanks Loop!
Duh!
Jeeze!
Enlightening!
J Dakar, know that you uplift us when you find these stories. Thank you for your contribution to “US”. Stay Driven in 2008 & Beyond!
Word, Fayetteville home of the first black senator! Shout out to Fayetteville aka Da’ville my hometown placed in the history books for something great!
Thanks Concrete Loop for highlighting Hiram Revels, I am a proud Alcornite, and Mississippian, he has such an inspirational story, glad that this website recognizes great heroes of the past and those making history today, this just goes to show that African Americans can do anything, look at this man be given a senatorial seat so few years after slavery.
Go Braves!!!
OBAMA 08!!!!!! YES WE CAN!!!!!!!
I love these post. I didn’t know anything about this man, im glad you posted this,,,,, keep up the good work.
Lovin’ it – thanks J. Dakar
LOL @ #15 I know right?
Nonetheless great post Dakar, never new about him, thanx!
********I love the fact that you guys have this feature******Thanks!
Thank you for the educational information! Unlike that other retarded blog broad who only post biased BS. Thank you SO much!
Thanks for putting this information about the first A-A Senator. IF this post was about Rhinana it would be blogged about to death. That’ why we still have a long way to go as a people. i guess it takes more effort to learn our history than waste time idolizing stars who don’t know our names.
Man this post just showed me how much i DON’T read. When i saw this post i was like who the hell is this guy? I had never even heard of him until now. Good thing i like history. Thanks for the post!
This is a wonderful article. We need to be reminded of the struggle those had before us, so we can see our way out of the current injustice we face today. Hopefully in November, HELP IS ON THE WAY!
YOU WONT FIND STUFF LIKE THIS ON MTO THAT’S FOR SURE. THAT’S WHY I LOVE CL,,,GREAT JOB!!!!!!!!
These republicans are nuts!
@1..
Because we’re too busy learning about fuckin’ George Washington whom we learn about EVERY EFFIN YEAR!!
@29..
Rihanna? If this was a Beyonce post it would be deleted by the overflow of comments (which half of them would be about Rihanna).
This was very interesting. I never heard of him before this post, thatnks for posting.
BTW: Democrats are the ones who supported the KKK..get with it black people, get a clue.
I am a graduate of Alcorn State University and my freshman year I lived in Revels Hall one of the older men’s dorms. Thank you for sharing. We as a people have been denied knowledge of our past for so long. It’s time we are made aware that Blacks were craftsmen, statesmen, inventors, artist, and many many other professions long before we were sold into slavery.
Going to a black university like Alcorn really boost my self esteem and pride in my race. Props to you for your continued effort to shine a light on our glorious pass. If we don’t no one will.
Peace and Blessings
These posts are so encouraging, knowing he and other African Americans accomplished so much then when blacks where just be recognized as citizens.
Great post CL! We love your black history posts.
@29, AGREED 100%. BUT THIS BLOG ATTRACTS A GENERALLY BETTER CROWD OF BLACK PEOPLE, DESPITE THE OBVIOUS FASCINATION FOR CELEBRITIES. MOST OTHER BLACK BLOGS ARE STRAIGHT TRASH. THESE BLACK HISTORY POSTS AND ALL THE STUFF RELATING TO POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS IS A WELCOME CHANGE FROM THE TYPICAL STUFF.
These posts are soooo necessary. If we read each of the black history spotlights, we will definitely learn more than we have in school. How unfortunate! Thanks J. Dakar!!
This is a celebrity site, so it’s not a big deal that there are a lot of comments on popular artists. But the fact that this site is including these spotlights as well as the political and other important issues is wonderful. I have never heard of this man before – of course we can all do searches, etc..but when it’s on a site that lets me read funny pieces, see fashion and all the other things that are important, it’s like one-stop shopping. I love these highlights and to the person that mentioned going to an HBCU, I totally agree i feel the same way
Very Worth while reading….something that caught Amazing piece ,More more
love these posts.
OMGoodness…I did learn about him in PUBLIC school!! He along with Blanch K. Bruce were the first blacks to hold office during reconstruction. There was literally a blurb on them in my AP American History class in high school. Thank you for expanding my knowledge about him and getting people to pay more attention to history.