Quotes to Live By: Hiram Rhodes Revels

During the canvass in the State of Mississippi, I traveled into different parts of that state, and this is the doctrine that I everywhere uttered: that while I was in favor of building up the colored race, I was not in favor of tearing down the white race. Hiram Rhodes Revels

Hiram Rhodes Revels (1822-1901) was the first Black person to be elected to the U.S. Senate. Rev. Revels ran on a platform that tried to gain ground for Black citizens without causing friction between the races, so not only did he advocate for the desegregation of schools and railroads, he also supported restoring the rights of ex-Confederates. After serving as a Senator, he became the president of Alcorn A&M.

Despite being born in Fayetteville, NC in 1822, Rev. Revels was never a slave; he was born to free parents. He moved to free states to receive his education, where he would eventually be ordained in the AME church. Before the civil war started, he was a both a pastor and principal. Once the Civil War began, he helped create *volunteer* regiments of black men for the Union army. He served as chaplain for a regiment serving in Mississippi. After the war, he stayed in Mississippi where he would go own to make history as the first Black person to be elected to the U.S. Senate. Mississippi would go on to elect Blanche Kelso Bruce, a former slave, as the 2nd Black person in Senate only a few years later.

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References

1. Hiram R. Revels". Encyclopædia Britannica; visited February 2019