Hiram Rhoades Revels

Hiram Rhoades Revels, who was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1870, was the first black to serve in Congress. A minister by profession, Revels began his political career as an alderman during Reconstruction. He worked tirelessly to guarantee equal rights for all races, fighting to end discriminatory practices in Washington, D.C. schools and the Navy Yard. Revels represented his home state for one year and then returned to Mississippi to continue his ministry and become the first president of Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College.