[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 34 (Tuesday, February 23, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H552-H554]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           JOSEPH HAYNE RAINEY MEMORIAL POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. MFUME. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 264) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 1101 Charlotte Street in Georgetown, South Carolina, 
as the ``Joseph Hayne Rainey Memorial Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 264

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. JOSEPH HAYNE RAINEY MEMORIAL POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 1101 Charlotte Street in Georgetown, South 
     Carolina, shall be known and designated as the ``Joseph Hayne 
     Rainey Memorial Post Office Building''.
       (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, 
     document, paper, or other record of the United States to the 
     facility referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be 
     a reference to the ``Joseph Hayne Rainey Memorial Post Office 
     Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Maryland (Mr. Mfume) and the gentlewoman from South Carolina (Ms. Mace) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Maryland.
  Mr. MFUME. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

[[Page H553]]

  Madam Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues here in the House 
in consideration of H.R. 264 to designate the facility of the United 
States Postal Service located at 1101 Charlotte Street in Georgetown, 
South Carolina, as the Joseph Hayne Rainey Memorial Post Office 
Building.
  Joseph Rainey was the first African-American Member of the United 
States House of Representatives and one of 14 Black Representatives 
elected before the end of Reconstruction in 1877.
  Joseph Rainey was born into slavery in Georgetown, South Carolina, in 
1832. His father was a barber and used his earnings to buy freedom for 
himself and his family and, yes, including Joseph. Later, during the 
Civil War, Joseph was drafted by the Confederacy, but he escaped to 
Bermuda and his wife and he there started a business.
  In 1866, he returned to Georgetown where he became the county's 
Republican Party chairman. Just a few years later, in 1870, he was 
elected to the United States Congress where he served until 1879, 
making him the longest serving African-American Member of Congress in 
the 19th century.
  Following his time in Congress, Rainey was appointed as a Federal 
agent of the U.S. Treasury Department. He returned to South Carolina in 
1886 and, unfortunately, passed away the following year in Georgetown.
  Representative Joe Rainey fought tirelessly for civil rights, 
education, and economic opportunity for all people. He left behind a 
legacy that will never be forgotten. So, at the very least, naming a 
post office in his honor will continually help all of us to remember 
the contributions of this remarkable trailblazer.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. MACE. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
South Carolina (Mr. Rice) for his remarks.
  Mr. RICE of South Carolina. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman 
from the First District of South Carolina for yielding.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 264.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will suspend. Will the 
gentleman put on his mask, please.
  Mr. RICE of South Carolina. Oh, I thought you could take it off when 
you are speaking. I am sorry.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman may proceed.
  Mr. RICE of South Carolina. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of 
my bill, H.R. 264, to rename the Post Office in Georgetown, South 
Carolina, the Joseph Hayne Rainey Memorial Post Office.
  A man, a trailblazer of many firsts, a civil rights pioneer, an 
American hero that I had never heard of before I got to Congress; I 
first learned of him because his portrait hangs on the wall in the 
halls of the House of Representatives.
  Joseph Rainey was the first African-American Member of the United 
States House of Representatives. Rainey was born into slavery in 
Georgetown in 1832. His father was a slave, but also a barber, and used 
his earnings to buy freedom for himself and his family, including 
Joseph.
  During the Civil War, Joseph Rainey was conscripted into the 
Confederate Army, but he escaped to Bermuda with his family and built a 
prosperous business as a barber.
  In 1866, he returned to Georgetown, where he became the county's 
Republican Party Chairman. In 1870, he was elected to the United States 
Congress, where he served until 1879. Think about that for a moment. 
The first African American to serve in the United States Congress was a 
former slave and a Republican from Georgetown, South Carolina.
  His tenure in Congress was distinguished by its advancement of civil 
rights, equality, and opportunity for all. He fought against violence 
and intimidation toward African Americans. In 1878, as Reconstruction 
was ending, he was defeated in his last race for Congress. He was one 
of 14 Black Representatives elected before the end of Reconstruction in 
1877. He was the longest-serving African-American Member of Congress, a 
record which stood until the 1950s.
  Following his time in Congress, Rainey was appointed as a Federal 
agent of the United States Treasury Department for the Internal Revenue 
Service in South Carolina.
  In 1866, he returned to South Carolina for good and passed away the 
following year in Georgetown. Rainey fought tirelessly for equal 
rights, education, and economic opportunity for all. He left behind a 
legacy that has improved the lives of generations, not just in South 
Carolina, but across the country.
  Representative Rainey's house still stands in historic Georgetown. It 
is located at 921 Prince Street. It was designated a national historic 
landmark in 1984, and I had the opportunity to visit just last year. 
The next time you are close by, stroll by the modest home in downtown 
Georgetown and pause for a moment to marvel at the life of an American 
hero; a man born a slave, a successful entrepreneur, escaped 
conscription in the Civil War, and served as a Representative in the 
United States Congress. What a remarkable life.
  It was a privilege to introduce this bill that honors a true American 
patriot like Mr. Rainey. All South Carolinians, all Americans, can look 
up to Joseph Rainey as a trailblazer of civil rights.
  I would like to thank Lorna Rainey, the great-granddaughter of Joseph 
Rainey, for her support in this effort.
  I also want to thank Representative Clyburn and Representative Mace, 
who helped move this through committee and bring it to the floor, along 
with the entire South Carolina House delegation for their cosponsorship 
of this bill.
  This is a much-deserved honor for an accomplished American patriot 
from South Carolina, Joseph Rainey. I urge my colleagues to vote 
``yea''.

  Mr. MFUME. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield).
  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. Mfume for yielding time, 
and I thank Mr. Rice for introducing this legislation.
  Madam Speaker, when I was first elected to Congress, I visited 
Congressman Clyburn's office seeking his assistance with committee 
assignments. While there, I noticed the pictures of eight former South 
Carolina Congressmen, all African American, hanging prominently in his 
outer office.
  Among those was Joseph Rainey, the first African American elected to 
the U.S. House of Representatives. I was unaware of Mr. Rainey, and so 
I became curious about this man.
  Joseph Rainey was born to enslaved parents on June 21, 1832, in 
Georgetown, South Carolina, a community heavily dominated with slaves.
  As the years went on, Joseph Rainey's father was permitted by his 
master to work independently and save a little money. Using his 
accumulated funds, Edward Rainey purchased freedom for little Joseph 
and his family.
  When President Lincoln was elected in 1860, 11 States seceded from 
the Union; South Carolina was the first. A civil war erupts.
  Joseph Rainey, now 28 years of age, was conscripted, or drafted, to 
work on fortifications in Charleston. This was unacceptable to Joseph, 
and so, with his family, he escaped to St. George, Bermuda.
  Madam Speaker, St. George is a small parish on the island of Bermuda. 
While there, Rainey undoubtedly became acquainted with my grandfather, 
James Peter Butterfield, born 1853, who lived his entire life in St. 
George.
  On December 6, 1865, the 13th Amendment was added to the 
Constitution, ending slavery in America. 400,000 slaves in South 
Carolina are free: 37,000 in Charleston, 32,000 in Beaufort, 18,000 in 
Georgetown.
  The same year, the Civil War ends. South Carolina desires to be 
readmitted to the Union. As a condition, South Carolina was required to 
adopt a constitution that repudiated secession, acknowledged the end of 
slavery and repudiated debts that the State and its White citizens had 
incurred.
  The South Carolina Constitutional Convention convened on January 14, 
1868. A very prominent delegate to the convention was Joseph H. Rainey. 
The convention's minutes, Madam Speaker, reflect that Rainey advocated 
for free public education for all South Carolina citizens. He advocated 
for relieving White landowners of their insurmountable debt that had 
accumulated during the war.
  The convention was successful; a new constitution was adopted, and on 
July

[[Page H554]]

9, 1868, South Carolina was readmitted to the Union. Joseph Rainey was 
recognized for his brilliance during the convention.
  The following year, 1869, Congress passed the 15th Amendment granting 
the former slaves the right to vote and hold office. On February 3, 
1870, the 15th Amendment was finally ratified by the States.
  Joseph Rainey seized the opportunity; ran for Congress in the First 
District. Elected on December 12, 1870, Congressman Rainey remained a 
Member of this body until after President Rutherford B. Hayes ended 
Reconstruction, which gave rise to violence against African Americans.
  Though Rainey was reelected in 1876, he did not seek office again, 
making him the longest-serving African-American Congressman during 
Reconstruction.
  Madam Speaker, this is a remarkable story. I appreciate Mr. Rice, and 
Mr. Clyburn, and the entire South Carolina delegation for offering this 
legislation to name the Post Office located at 1101 Charlotte Street in 
Georgetown as the Joseph Hayne Rainey Memorial Post Office Building.
  Ms. MACE. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers and I am prepared 
to close. I reserve the balance of my time.


                             General Leave

  Mr. MFUME. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
to include extraneous material on H.R. 264.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Maryland?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. MFUME. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn), the distinguished whip of 
the House of Representatives.

                              {time}  1615

  Mr. CLYBURN. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 264, 
which will designate the post office located on Charlotte Street in 
Georgetown, South Carolina, as the Joseph Hayne Rainey Memorial Post 
Office Building.
  I am proud to join with the bill's lead sponsor, Congressman   Tom 
Rice, and the other members of the South Carolina congressional 
delegation in cosponsoring this important legislation.
  This action builds on our efforts in the last Congress to honor the 
life and legacy of Joseph Rainey by naming H-150, the former House 
Committee on Indian Affairs room in the Capitol, in his honor.
  These are just two of the long-overdue actions needed to amplify the 
historical significance of the first African American to serve in the 
United States House of Representatives.
  Congressman Rainey was a trailblazer whose story and place in history 
have been overlooked. As a former history teacher who believes knowing 
our history is instructive so that we don't repeat the mistakes of our 
past, I would like to share with you my fellow South Carolinian's 
legacy.
  Joseph Rainey, as you heard, was born enslaved in 1832 in Georgetown, 
South Carolina. His father was able to buy his family's freedom with 
earnings he made as a barber. As a freedman living in Charleston, 
Rainey was conscripted by the Confederacy in 1862. Rather than fighting 
to preserve slavery, he and his family fled to Bermuda, where he worked 
as a barber until the end of the war.
  Rainey returned to South Carolina after the Civil War and served, as 
you heard, as a delegate to the 1868 South Carolina Constitutional 
Convention. He was elected to the State senate in 1870. Later that 
year, he was elected to Congress in a special election and was sworn 
into Congress on December 12, 150 years ago, becoming the first Black 
to serve in the House of Representatives.
  He was the first of several African-American Members of this body 
during Reconstruction, when the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were 
enforced, however imperfectly, by the power of the Federal Government.
  But Reconstruction was short-lived. Jim Crow laws and white 
supremacists dismantled multiracial democracy with voter suppression, 
nullifications, and violent insurrection. Federal troops were withdrawn 
from the South following widespread white supremacist violence during 
the 1876 election and the subsequent election of Rutherford B. Hayes as 
President.
  Joseph Rainey spoke out against the removal of Federal protection of 
voting rights, but in 1878, he lost reelection to former Confederate 
officer John Smythe Richardson in a district that was, like South 
Carolina, majority Black.
  Severe gerrymandering reduced the number of Black South Carolinians 
in Congress to one in the 1890s. When George Washington Murray lost his 
bid for reelection in 1897, South Carolina's representation in Congress 
was again all White and remained all White for the next 95 years.
  Segregation and Black disenfranchisement were the law of the land 
until the 1960s. But thanks to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and its 
1982 amendments, I was elected to this august body in 1992.
  Today, Congress is still grappling with racial issues, voter 
suppression, and, as we witnessed last month, domestic terrorism.
  It is fitting and proper that we are taking this step as we are 
celebrating Black History Month. I believe we would do well to learn 
some of the lessons of American history through Joseph Rainey's 
experiences, and I hope today's action will help illuminate his story 
and cause us all to reflect on his legacy. We must not allow the 
progress we have made toward racial equity since the 1960s to 
retrogress, as it did after the 1860s.
  To truly honor the contributions of Joseph Rainey and all African 
Americans, we must build on this progress by working together to 
address our country's longstanding racial inequities and fulfill the 
promise of liberty and justice for all.
  Ms. MACE. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers and am prepared 
to close.
  It is a real honor to be here today, and the distinguished whip is 
correct that this is long overdue, to recognize Joseph Rainey and his 
accomplishments.
  He fought tirelessly for civil rights and education and opportunity. 
He fought for freedom for every working American in this country. To be 
here today in Black History Month to recognize his legacy and his 
legend, he will not be forgotten, and we ensure that today.
  I hope that future generations of South Carolinians and Americans 
across the country can be inspired by his courageous leadership here in 
this House. I urge my colleagues to support this bill today.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. MFUME. Madam Speaker, I want to make sure that I mention my 
appreciation to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn) and the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield) for the way they 
succinctly captured a great swath of American history over the period 
of time that followed Lincoln's signing of the Emancipation 
Proclamation in 1863 all the way up to the beginning of the Black Codes 
and the failing of Reconstruction, an era that held great hope for this 
country but did not come to pass and really was not evidenced until 
many, many decades later, as Mr. Clyburn pointed out.
  I am happy and honored to bring this measure forward. I want to thank 
the gentlewoman from South Carolina for all of her efforts and the 
gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Rice) for their work advancing this.
  Madam Speaker, I strongly urge the passage of H.R. 264. I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Mfume) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 264.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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