Hiram R. Revels
Revels (September 27, 1827 – January 16, 1901) was a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) and a politician. He was the first person of color to serve in the United States Senate and in the U.S. Congress overall and represented Mississippi in 1870 and 1871 during Reconstruction. During the Civil War, he helped organize two regiments of the United States Colored Troops and served as a chaplain. Revels advocated compromise and moderation, and was a vigorous supporter of racial equality; he worked to reassure senators about the capability of blacks. In his first speech to the Senate on March 16, 1870, he argued for the reinstatement of the black legislators of the Georgia General Assembly, who had been illegally ousted by white Democratic Party representatives.
