Black Republicans. Once upon a time they abounded and they led with the courage and smarts of which legends are born. Pictured here is the first Black United States Senator, Hiram Rhodes Revels. He represented the state of Mississippi.
Seems ironic that the most maligned of all the 50 states when it comes to achievement and race relations was the first to send a Black to the US Congress, a US Senator, no less! Revels’ arrival in 1870, the 41st Congress, was not met without opposition. According to the Constitution, “No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have…been nine Years a Citizen of the United States…” (Article I, Section 3). While the 1868 14th Amendment clearly identified Revels as a citizen, the Democrats decried his seating by the Mississippi State Legislature (prior to the 17th Amendment, State Legislatures voted for US Senators (http://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/17th-amendment/)) and attempted to disqualify Revel using a technical argument based on the 1857 Dred Scott decision which declared individuals of slave ancestry were not US citizens. The Democrats maintained Revel did not meet the nine year citizen requirement. “On February 25, 1870, Revels, on a strict party-line vote of 48 to 8, with only Republicans voting in favor and only Democrats voting against, became the first African American to be seated in the United States Senate.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiram_Rhodes_Revels)
Pictured here are the first Blacks elected to Congress. All from the South.(Left to right) Senator Hiram Revels of Mississippi, Representatives Benjamin Turner of Alabama, Robert DeLarge of South Carolina, Josiah Wallsof Florida, Jefferson Long of Georgia, Joseph Rainey and Robert B. Elliot of South Carolina.
(http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/98501907/)
Blacks have a rich Republican history and in some respects, each election is a reminder of Revel and his 1870 victory. The names and years may be different, but the struggle is the same. It’s about knowing your history, being able to articulate your policy position, and rising above the very real low expectations people in power have about the electorate. No matter the political party, it’s about thinking for yourself. Black Republicans still lead with the courage and smarts of which legends are born. I abound with them.
Cynthia Shaffer
Guest Political Blogger
ReelUrbanNews.com
