Joseph Rainey, between 1860 and 1875 Image courtesy of the Library of Congress
Born into slavery in 1832, Joseph Rainey was the first African American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, the first African American to preside over the House, and the longest-serving African American during Reconstruction.
When Rainey was a child in the 1840s, his father bought the family’s freedom, and
they settled in Charleston, South Carolina. TIMELINE EXHIBITION During the Civil War, Rainey escaped to Bermuda, where he had a profitable barbershop. He dove into politics immediately when he returned to South Carolina in 1866.
Rainey was sworn in as a Member of Congress on December 12, 1870, and represented his South Carolina district for eight years. He argued for federal protection from Ku Klux Klan violence and demanded legislation to ensure African Joseph Rainey, 2004 Americans’ civil rights. history.house.gov @USHouseHistory Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives Joseph Rainey: 150th Anniversary commemorates the South Carolina Member’s swearing-in on December 12, 1870, when he became the first African American to serve in the House of Representatives. The exhibition explores the impact of Rainey and the African-American Representatives who followed in his footsteps, overcoming barriers raised by the legacy of slavery and the rise of Jim Crow. It is located in the first floor House Connecting Corridor of the U.S. Capitol.
1964–1965 1865–1877 Congress passes the The Civil War’s end ushers in Civil Rights Act of 1964, Reconstruction, the federal guaranteeing equal access 1969 government’s 12-year effort to public accommodations to establish rights for African and schools, and barring Shirley Chisholm is sworn Americans and return employment discrimination. in as the first Black woman rebellious states to the Union. The Voting Rights Act of in Congress on January 3, 1969. 1965 follows swiftly, Shirley Chisholm, 2008 “The First Vote,” 1867 prohibiting literacy tests Collection of the U.S. Image courtesy of House of Representatives the Library of Congress and mandating federal oversight of elections in states with a history of voting discrimination.
1870 Joseph Rainey is sworn in as the first Black Member of the U.S. 1929 House of Representatives on Chicago’s Oscar De Priest becomes the first Black December 12, 1870. Member to serve in Congress since 1901, reflecting the migration of African Americans from the rural Joseph Rainey, between 1860 and 1875 South to urban centers in the North. Image courtesy of the New York Public Library Oscar Stanton De Priest Lapel Pin, between 1928 and 1934 Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives
1875 1901 Congress passes the Civil Rights Act George White, the last remaining Black Representative at the of 1875, prohibiting discrimination in turn of the century, retires from the House and says in his jury selection, transportation, and departing speech in January 1901, “This, Mr. Chairman, is many public spaces. perhaps the Negroes’ temporary farewell to the American
“To Thine Own Self Be True,” 1875 Congress; but let me say, Phoenix-like he will rise up some day Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives and come again.”
1865–1877 1870 1875 1901 1929 1964–1965 1969