[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 39 (Thursday, February 27, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S1226]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SENATE RESOLUTION 508--COMMEMORATING THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 
 HISTORIC SEATING OF HIRAM RHODES REVELS AS THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN 
                         UNITED STATES SENATOR

  Mr. WICKER (for himself, Mr. Alexander, Ms. Baldwin, Mrs. Blackburn, 
Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Braun, Mr. Brown, Mr. Burr, 
Ms. Cantwell, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Casey, Mr. Cassidy, Ms. 
Collins, Mr. Coons, Mr. Cornyn, Ms. Cortez Masto, Mr. Cotton, Mr. 
Cramer, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Daines, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Durbin, Ms. 
Ernst, Mrs. Feinstein, Mrs. Fischer, Mr. Gardner, Mr. Graham, Mr. 
Grassley, Mr. Hawley, Mr. Heinrich, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. 
Johnson, Mr. Jones, Mr. Kaine, Mr. King, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Lankford, 
Mr. Leahy, Mrs. Loeffler, Mr. Manchin, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Moran, Mr. 
Paul, Mr. Perdue, Mr. Peters, Mr. Risch, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Romney, Ms. 
Rosen, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Sasse, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Scott of 
Florida, Mr. Scott of South Carolina, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Smith, Mr. 
Tester, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Udall, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Warner, Mr. 
Whitehouse, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Young, Mr. Rounds, and Mr. Bennet) submitted 
the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 508

       Whereas Hiram Rhodes Revels (referred to in this preamble 
     as ``Hiram Revels'') was born a free African American on 
     September 27, 1827, in Fayetteville, Cumberland County, North 
     Carolina;
       Whereas Hiram Revels understood the importance of education 
     from an early age in North Carolina, where he received a 
     secondary school education at a school run by a free black 
     woman;
       Whereas, after being denied the ability to advance his 
     education in North Carolina, Hiram Revels attended 
     postsecondary schools where he cultivated his faith, 
     including Beech Grove Quaker Seminary in Union County, 
     Indiana, Darke County Seminary in Ohio, and, later, Knox 
     College in Galesburg, Illinois;
       Whereas Hiram Revels served as an ordained minister to 
     African Methodist Episcopal congregations across the United 
     States, including congregations in Maryland and Missouri, 
     which were both slave States at the time of his service;
       Whereas Hiram Revels, a talented orator and preacher, 
     practiced and promoted his faith, which informed and 
     encouraged his efforts to advance education for free African 
     Americans;
       Whereas Hiram Revels--
       (1) was dedicated to the fight for freedom;
       (2) served in the military;
       (3) aided in the recruitment of members for regiments of 
     the United States Colored Troops, including 2 regiments 
     established in Maryland and 1 regiment established in 
     Missouri; and
       (4) served as the chaplain for members of the United States 
     Colored Troops in Vicksburg, Mississippi, in 1864;
       Whereas Hiram Revels courageously stepped forward to engage 
     in civic life in the aftermath of the Civil War by serving 
     as--
       (1) an alderman for Natchez, Mississippi, in 1868;
       (2) a Mississippi State senator in 1870; and
       (3) the Secretary of State ad interim of Mississippi in 
     1873;
       Whereas the State legislature of Mississippi elected Hiram 
     Revels to fill a vacancy in 1 of its 2 seats in the United 
     States Senate with 1 year remaining on the term of the seat;
       Whereas, despite challenges to his credentials, Hiram 
     Revels was seated in the United States Senate on February 25, 
     1870, becoming the first African American to serve as a 
     Member of Congress;
       Whereas Hiram Revels represented Mississippi in the United 
     States Senate for a period of 1 year from February 25, 1870, 
     until March 3, 1871;
       Whereas Hiram Revels was the first of only 10 African 
     American Senators to serve among the nearly 2,000 men and 
     women who have served as Senators in the history of the 
     United States Senate as of the date of introduction of this 
     resolution;
       Whereas Hiram Revels was a Reconstruction era Republican 
     Senator who helped to advance the United States, including in 
     education, military service, civic engagement, and community 
     service;
       Whereas February 25, 2020, marks the 150th anniversary of 
     the United States Senate--
       (1) rejecting the challenges to the credentials of Hiram 
     Revels; and
       (2) voting 48 to 8 to seat Hiram Revels as the first 
     African American to serve in Congress;
       Whereas, following his engagement in civic life, Hiram 
     Revels--
       (1) served as the first president of Alcorn Agricultural 
     and Mechanical College in Claiborne County, Mississippi, 
     which was the first African American land grant college in 
     the United States; and
       (2) later taught theology and served as a member of the 
     Board of Trustees at Rust College, formerly known as Shaw 
     College, in Holly Springs, Mississippi;
       Whereas Hiram Revels died on January 16, 1901, in Aberdeen, 
     Mississippi and was laid to rest in Hill Crest Cemetery in 
     Holly Springs, Mississippi; and
       Whereas the life and service of Hiram Rhodes Revels remain 
     a symbol of the ideals of the United States, including the 
     principle that all men are created equal: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) honors the life, accomplishments, and legacy of Hiram 
     Rhodes Revels;
       (2) recognizes the commitment of Hiram Rhodes Revels to 
     fighting for equality and social justice;
       (3) celebrates the legacy that Hiram Rhodes Revels left to 
     guide and inspire future generations; and
       (4) commemorates the 150th anniversary of the historic 
     seating of Hiram Rhodes Revels as the first African American 
     United States Senator.

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