More than 1,500 African American officeholders served during the
Reconstruction era (1865–1877) and in the years after Reconstruction before
white supremacy, disenfranchisement, and the
Democratic Party fully reasserted control in Southern states.[1] Historian
Canter Brown Jr. noted that in some
states, such as
Florida, the highest number of African Americans were elected or appointed to offices after the end of Reconstruction in 1877. The following is a partial list of notable African American officeholders from the end of the Civil War until before 1900. Dates listed are the year that a term states or the range of years served if multiple terms.
P. B. S. Pinchback –
Louisiana 1873, elected but the Senate refused to seat him (also Louisiana Lt. Governor, Louisiana Senate, acting Louisiana Governor, Louisiana Constitutional Convention)[2]
Robert C. De Large – South Carolina 1871–1873 (also South Carolina House, South Carolina Constitutional Convention, and State Land Commissioner)[2]
Robert B. Elliott – South Carolina 1871–1874 (also South Carolina House, South Carolina Attorney General, South Carolina Constitutional Convention, South Carolina Senate, city council)[2]
Thomas E. Miller – South Carolina September 24, 1890 – March 3, 1891 (also South Carolina Senate, South Carolina House, and South Carolina Constitutional Convention)[2]
Between 1868 and 1893, 85 men noted as "
colored" or "
mulatto" were elected to the Arkansas legislature.[14][15] Initially, they served under the
1868 Arkansas Constitution that granted them the right to vote and hold office. The Democrats retook control of state government and instituted the 1874 Constitution. As a result, after 1893, the next African American to serve as an Arkansas state legislator was in 1973.[16]
William Henry Grey –
Phillips County 1875 (also Arkansas House, Arkansas Constitutional Convention, and Arkansas Commissioner of Immigration and State Lands)
William Henry Grey –
Phillips County 1868 (also Arkansas Senate, Arkansas Constitutional Convention, and Arkansas Commissioner of Immigration and State Lands)
William Henry Grey – Arkansas Commissioner of Immigration and State Lands (also Arkansas House, Arkansas Senate, and Arkansas Constitutional Convention)
James T. White – Arkansas Commissioner of Public Works (also Arkansas House, Arkansas Senate, and Arkansas Constitutional Convention)
Robert Meacham – 9th District 1868–1877, 1879 (also Florida Constitutional Convention, clerk of the circuit court, superintendent of common schools, and postmaster)
Robert Meacham – postmaster of
Monticello February 19, 1869 – March 22, 1871 (also Florida Senate, Florida Constitutional Convention, clerk of the circuit court, and superintendent of common schools)[11]
Robert Meacham – clerk of the circuit court
Jefferson County 1868 and superintendent of commons schools Jefferson County 1869 (also Florida Senate, Florida Constitutional Convention, and postmaster)
Edward P. McCabe – clerk in the
Cook County office of the U.S. Treasury Department (also country clerk Kansas State Auditor, and county treasurer in Oklahoma)
Through 1900, 24 African Americans served in the
Louisiana Senate during Reconstruction; more than 100 served in the
Louisiana House of Representatives.[41] In addition, six African American men held statewide offices in Louisiana, including the nation's first African American acting governors.
P. B. S. Pinchback – acting governor December 1872–January 1873 (also U.S. Senate, Louisiana Lt. Governor, Louisiana Constitutional Convention, and Louisiana Senate)
Louisiana lieutenant governor
Caesar Antoine – 1873–1877 (also Louisiana Senate and Louisiana Constitutional Convention)
Oscar James Dunn – 1868–1871, (also Louisiana Constitutional Convention
P. B. S. Pinchback – 1872 (also U.S. Senate, acting Louisiana Governor, Louisiana Constitutional Convention, and Louisiana Senate)
P. B. S. Pinchback –
Orleans Parish 1868–1871 (also U.S. Senate, Louisiana Lt. Governor, acting Louisiana Governor, and Louisiana Constitutional Convention)[43]
The
Mississippi Plan was part of an organized campaign of terror and violence used by the Democratic Party and
Ku Klux Klan to disenfranchise African Americans in Mississippi, block them from holding office, end Reconstruction, and restore white supremacy in the state. Nevertheless, many African Americans served in its legislature and Mississippi was the only state that elected African American candidates to the U.S. Senate during the Reconstruction era; a total of 37 African Americans served in the Senate and 117 served in the House.[56][57]
Thomas Richardson – postmaster of
Port Gibson September 28, 1870 – October 6, 1876; February 27, 1890 – February 26, 1875; May 11, 1885 – March 14, 1894[11]
Parker David Robbins – postmaster of
Harrellsville September 22, 1875 – October 8, 1877 (also North Carolina Constitutional Convention and North Carolina House)[11]
During Reconstruction, South Carolina was the only state whose legislature was majority African American.[87]Eric Foner says 29 African Americans served in the South Carolina Senate, and 210 African Americans served in the South Carolina House of Representatives.[87] In addition, 72 African Americans participated in the 1868 South Carolina Constitutional Convention. Many others served in various state or local offices ranging from Lt. Governor to justice of the peace.[87]
Lawrence Cain – Edgefield County 1872–1876 (also South Carolina House)[88]
Richard H. Cain –
Charleston County 1868 (also U.S. Congress, South Carolina House, South Carolina Constitutional Convention, South Carolina Attorney General, city council)
Robert Smalls –
Beaufort County 1870–1875 (also U.S. Congress, South Carolina House, South Carolina Constitutional Convention, and collector of customs)
Richard H. Cain – At-large 1868–1870 and 2nd District 1877 (also U.S. Congress, South Carolina Senate, South Carolina Attorney General, South Carolina Constitutional Convention, city council)
Robert B. Elliott –
Barnwell,
Edgefield, and
Aiken counties 1868, 1874; speaker of the house 1874–1876 (also U.S. Congress, South Carolina Attorney General, South Carolina Constitutional Convention, and county commissioner)[87]
Thomas E. Miller –
Beaufort County 1866, 1874–1880, 1886–1888, 1894–1896 (also U.S. Congress, South Carolina Constitutional Convention, and South Carolina Senate)[89]
Robert Smalls –
Beaufort County 1868 (also South Carolina Senate, South Carolina Constitutional Convention, U.S. States Congress, and collector of customs)
Richard H. Cain –
Charleston County 1868 (also U.S. Congress, city council, and South Carolina Senate, House, Attorney General, and Constitutional Convention)
R. C. De Large – State Land Commissioner 1870; State Commissioner Sinking Fund (also U.S. Congress, South Carolina House, and South Carolina Constitutional Congress)
Benjamin A. Boseman – postmaster of
Charleston March 18, 1873 – February 23, 1881 (also South Carolina Constitutional Convention and South Carolina House)[11][88]
Charles D. Hayne – postmaster of
Aiken March 23, 1869 – January 23, 1871 (South Carolina Constitutional Convention, South Carolina Secretary of State, South Carolina House, and South Carolina Senate)[11]
Thaddeus Sasportas – postmaster of
Orangeburg March 19, 1869 – February 17, 1870 (also South Carolina House and South Carolina Constitutional Convention)[11]
Robert Smalls – Collector of Customs at Beaufort 1899–1913 (also U.S. Congress, South Carolina House, South Carolina Senate, and South Carolina Constitutional Convention)[87][m]
Charles McDuffie Wilder – postmaster of
Columbia April 5, 1869 – June 2, 1885 (also South Carolina House and South Carolina Constitutional Convention)[88][11]
Joshua E. Wilson – postmaster of
Florence February 8, 1876 – January 27, 1885; March 24, 1890 – July 18, 1899; April 9, 1883 – March 9, 1886; May 11, 1894 – September 1, 1909[88][11]
Robert B. Elliott –
Barnwell County commissioner (also U.S. Congress, South Carolina Attorney General, South Carolina Constitutional Convention, and South Carolina House)[87]
William James Whipper – judge of probate Beaufort County (also South Carolina House and South Carolina Constitutional Convention)[88][p]
Tennessee
Only one African American served in the Tennessee Legislature during the 1870s, but more than a dozen followed in the 1880s as Republicans retook the governorship.[94] They advocated for schools for African Americans, spoke against segregated public facilities, and advocated for voting rights protections.[95]
Norris Wright Cuney – 12th district member of the
Galveston Board of Aldermen 1883 (also U.S. Customs Collector)
Vermont
Local offices
Stephen Bates, Sheriff of
Vergennes and the first Black chief law enforcement officer in Vermont history, 1879
Virginia
In 2012, the Virginia Senate enacted Joint Resolution No. 89, recognizing that Reconstruction in Virginia lasted from 1869 to 1890 due to
Jim Crow laws; federal Reconstruction ended in 1877.[126]
Francis Lewis Cardozo – U.S Postal Service auditor for the United Nates Department of Treasury 1878–1888 (also South Carolina Secretary of State, South Carolina Treasurer, and South Carolina Constitutional Convention)[88]
^
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabacBlocked from office by racial state legislation during 1868 and 1869. After an 1869 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, they were reseated in January 1870.
^Turner may not have served as postmaster according to the U.S. Postal Service.
^When he became Louisiana's Lieutenant Governor, Oscar James Dunn was the first African American elected to a state-level position in the United States.
^Pierre Caliste Landry was the first elected African American mayor in the United States.
^
abcdefAll-African American towns that existed in the Indian Territory in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but no longer exist today, include Lee, Lincoln, Udora, and Wellington. For more information, refer to "All-Black Towns" in
The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.
^Gleaves was elected to a third term as Lt. Governor in 1876 but the Democrats forced him to withdraw.
^Lomax was elected to the South Carolina House in 1869 but died in January 1870 before the legislature convened.
^
abcdAssassinated by the Ku-Klux Klan, according to H. A. Wallace.
^Wright was the first African American to occupy a judicial position in the United States.
^Murdered during a white mob attack on February 22, 1898.
^Smalls lost this position in 1913 when newly installed President Woodrow Wilson segregated federal offices.
^Allen was the first African American elected to a municipal judgeship in the United States.
^Bouey was elected county sheriff in 1876 but was not granted the position.
^Whipper was elected by the legislature a Circuit Court Judge but Governor
Chamberlain refused to commission him.
^Office of the Historian.
"The Election of Samuel Peters of Louisiana". Historical Highlights, History, Art & Archives. Office of the Clerk, House of Representatives of the United States. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
^Rose, James A. (1906).
"Forty-First General Assembly 1898-1900". Blue Book of the State of Illinois. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Journal Co., State Printers. p. 365 – via Google Books.
^Scott, Rebecca J.; Hébrard, Jean M. (2014). "Rosalie of the Poulard Nation: Freedom, Law, and Dignity in the Era of the Haitian Revolution". In Sweet, John Wood; Lindsay, Lisa A. (eds.). Biography and the Black Atlantic. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University. pp. 116–143.
ISBN978-0-8122-0870-2.
OCLC868967268.
^
ab"Avoyelles Parish Sheriffs". The Marksville Weekly News. September 13, 2007. p. 12. Retrieved January 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^
abcdeWork, Monroe N. and Napier, J.C. (January 1920). "Some Negro Members of Reconstruction Conventions and Legislatures and of Congress" (PDF). The Journal of Negro History. 5 (1): 113-118. Retrieved January 13, 2023 – via JSTOR.
^"Biographies". This Honorable Body: African American Legislatures in 19th Century Tennessee. Tennessee State Library and Archives. 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (September 8, 2020).
"Burley, D. W."Handbook of Texas Online (2nd ed.). Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M.; Carr, Anthony L. (August 1, 2014).
"Cotton, Giles". Handbook of Texas Online (2nd ed.). Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (October 21, 2020).
"Dupree, J. Goldsteen". Handbook of Texas Online (2nd ed.). Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (January 1, 1995).
"Freeman, Jacob E."Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (October 22, 2020).
"Geiger, Harriel G."Handbook of Texas Online (2nd ed.). Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (November 18, 2020).
"Kerr, Robert A."Handbook of Texas Online (2nd ed.). Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M; Carr, Anthony L. (February 24, 2015).
"Medlock, David, Jr". Handbook of Texas Online (2nd ed.). Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^
abLucko, Paul M. (April 1, 1995).
"Mitchell, John". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (April 1, 1995).
"Moore, Henry". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^
abBarr, Alwyn (November 23, 2017).
"Mullens, Shepherd". Handbook of Texas Online (2nd ed.). Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (May 1, 1995).
"Phelps, Henry". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Nabors, Daniel J. (January 27, 2021).
"Sledge, Alonzo L."Handbook of Texas Online (2nd ed.). Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Pitre, Merline (July 27, 2022).
"Williams, Benjamin Franklin". Texas State Historical Association (2nd ed.). Retrieved January 22, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (August 1, 1995).
"Williams, Richard". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (September 1, 1995).
"Wyatt, George W."Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (January 29, 2016).
"Bryant, Charles W."Handbook of Texas Online (2nd ed.). Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (December 1, 1994).
"Curtis, Stephen". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (December 1, 1994).
"Davis, Bird B."Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (April 27, 2019).
"Johnson, Wiley". Handbook of Texas Online (2nd ed.). Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (November 22, 2020).
"Long, Ralph". Texas State Historical Association (2nd ed.). Retrieved January 21, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (April 1, 1995).
"McCabe, Lloyd Henry". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (September 23, 2020).
"McWashington, James". Handbook of Texas Online (2nd ed.). Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (September 28, 2020).
"Reynolds, William". Handbook of Texas Online (2nd ed.). Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (August 1, 1995).
"Watrous, Benjamin O."Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
Bailey, Richard. Neither Carpetbaggers Nor Scalawags: Black Officeholders During the Reconstruction of Alabama, 1867–1878. Montgomery: Richard Bailey Publishers, 1995.
ISBN978-0962721809
More than 1,500 African American officeholders served during the
Reconstruction era (1865–1877) and in the years after Reconstruction before
white supremacy, disenfranchisement, and the
Democratic Party fully reasserted control in Southern states.[1] Historian
Canter Brown Jr. noted that in some
states, such as
Florida, the highest number of African Americans were elected or appointed to offices after the end of Reconstruction in 1877. The following is a partial list of notable African American officeholders from the end of the Civil War until before 1900. Dates listed are the year that a term states or the range of years served if multiple terms.
P. B. S. Pinchback –
Louisiana 1873, elected but the Senate refused to seat him (also Louisiana Lt. Governor, Louisiana Senate, acting Louisiana Governor, Louisiana Constitutional Convention)[2]
Robert C. De Large – South Carolina 1871–1873 (also South Carolina House, South Carolina Constitutional Convention, and State Land Commissioner)[2]
Robert B. Elliott – South Carolina 1871–1874 (also South Carolina House, South Carolina Attorney General, South Carolina Constitutional Convention, South Carolina Senate, city council)[2]
Thomas E. Miller – South Carolina September 24, 1890 – March 3, 1891 (also South Carolina Senate, South Carolina House, and South Carolina Constitutional Convention)[2]
Between 1868 and 1893, 85 men noted as "
colored" or "
mulatto" were elected to the Arkansas legislature.[14][15] Initially, they served under the
1868 Arkansas Constitution that granted them the right to vote and hold office. The Democrats retook control of state government and instituted the 1874 Constitution. As a result, after 1893, the next African American to serve as an Arkansas state legislator was in 1973.[16]
William Henry Grey –
Phillips County 1875 (also Arkansas House, Arkansas Constitutional Convention, and Arkansas Commissioner of Immigration and State Lands)
William Henry Grey –
Phillips County 1868 (also Arkansas Senate, Arkansas Constitutional Convention, and Arkansas Commissioner of Immigration and State Lands)
William Henry Grey – Arkansas Commissioner of Immigration and State Lands (also Arkansas House, Arkansas Senate, and Arkansas Constitutional Convention)
James T. White – Arkansas Commissioner of Public Works (also Arkansas House, Arkansas Senate, and Arkansas Constitutional Convention)
Robert Meacham – 9th District 1868–1877, 1879 (also Florida Constitutional Convention, clerk of the circuit court, superintendent of common schools, and postmaster)
Robert Meacham – postmaster of
Monticello February 19, 1869 – March 22, 1871 (also Florida Senate, Florida Constitutional Convention, clerk of the circuit court, and superintendent of common schools)[11]
Robert Meacham – clerk of the circuit court
Jefferson County 1868 and superintendent of commons schools Jefferson County 1869 (also Florida Senate, Florida Constitutional Convention, and postmaster)
Edward P. McCabe – clerk in the
Cook County office of the U.S. Treasury Department (also country clerk Kansas State Auditor, and county treasurer in Oklahoma)
Through 1900, 24 African Americans served in the
Louisiana Senate during Reconstruction; more than 100 served in the
Louisiana House of Representatives.[41] In addition, six African American men held statewide offices in Louisiana, including the nation's first African American acting governors.
P. B. S. Pinchback – acting governor December 1872–January 1873 (also U.S. Senate, Louisiana Lt. Governor, Louisiana Constitutional Convention, and Louisiana Senate)
Louisiana lieutenant governor
Caesar Antoine – 1873–1877 (also Louisiana Senate and Louisiana Constitutional Convention)
Oscar James Dunn – 1868–1871, (also Louisiana Constitutional Convention
P. B. S. Pinchback – 1872 (also U.S. Senate, acting Louisiana Governor, Louisiana Constitutional Convention, and Louisiana Senate)
P. B. S. Pinchback –
Orleans Parish 1868–1871 (also U.S. Senate, Louisiana Lt. Governor, acting Louisiana Governor, and Louisiana Constitutional Convention)[43]
The
Mississippi Plan was part of an organized campaign of terror and violence used by the Democratic Party and
Ku Klux Klan to disenfranchise African Americans in Mississippi, block them from holding office, end Reconstruction, and restore white supremacy in the state. Nevertheless, many African Americans served in its legislature and Mississippi was the only state that elected African American candidates to the U.S. Senate during the Reconstruction era; a total of 37 African Americans served in the Senate and 117 served in the House.[56][57]
Thomas Richardson – postmaster of
Port Gibson September 28, 1870 – October 6, 1876; February 27, 1890 – February 26, 1875; May 11, 1885 – March 14, 1894[11]
Parker David Robbins – postmaster of
Harrellsville September 22, 1875 – October 8, 1877 (also North Carolina Constitutional Convention and North Carolina House)[11]
During Reconstruction, South Carolina was the only state whose legislature was majority African American.[87]Eric Foner says 29 African Americans served in the South Carolina Senate, and 210 African Americans served in the South Carolina House of Representatives.[87] In addition, 72 African Americans participated in the 1868 South Carolina Constitutional Convention. Many others served in various state or local offices ranging from Lt. Governor to justice of the peace.[87]
Lawrence Cain – Edgefield County 1872–1876 (also South Carolina House)[88]
Richard H. Cain –
Charleston County 1868 (also U.S. Congress, South Carolina House, South Carolina Constitutional Convention, South Carolina Attorney General, city council)
Robert Smalls –
Beaufort County 1870–1875 (also U.S. Congress, South Carolina House, South Carolina Constitutional Convention, and collector of customs)
Richard H. Cain – At-large 1868–1870 and 2nd District 1877 (also U.S. Congress, South Carolina Senate, South Carolina Attorney General, South Carolina Constitutional Convention, city council)
Robert B. Elliott –
Barnwell,
Edgefield, and
Aiken counties 1868, 1874; speaker of the house 1874–1876 (also U.S. Congress, South Carolina Attorney General, South Carolina Constitutional Convention, and county commissioner)[87]
Thomas E. Miller –
Beaufort County 1866, 1874–1880, 1886–1888, 1894–1896 (also U.S. Congress, South Carolina Constitutional Convention, and South Carolina Senate)[89]
Robert Smalls –
Beaufort County 1868 (also South Carolina Senate, South Carolina Constitutional Convention, U.S. States Congress, and collector of customs)
Richard H. Cain –
Charleston County 1868 (also U.S. Congress, city council, and South Carolina Senate, House, Attorney General, and Constitutional Convention)
R. C. De Large – State Land Commissioner 1870; State Commissioner Sinking Fund (also U.S. Congress, South Carolina House, and South Carolina Constitutional Congress)
Benjamin A. Boseman – postmaster of
Charleston March 18, 1873 – February 23, 1881 (also South Carolina Constitutional Convention and South Carolina House)[11][88]
Charles D. Hayne – postmaster of
Aiken March 23, 1869 – January 23, 1871 (South Carolina Constitutional Convention, South Carolina Secretary of State, South Carolina House, and South Carolina Senate)[11]
Thaddeus Sasportas – postmaster of
Orangeburg March 19, 1869 – February 17, 1870 (also South Carolina House and South Carolina Constitutional Convention)[11]
Robert Smalls – Collector of Customs at Beaufort 1899–1913 (also U.S. Congress, South Carolina House, South Carolina Senate, and South Carolina Constitutional Convention)[87][m]
Charles McDuffie Wilder – postmaster of
Columbia April 5, 1869 – June 2, 1885 (also South Carolina House and South Carolina Constitutional Convention)[88][11]
Joshua E. Wilson – postmaster of
Florence February 8, 1876 – January 27, 1885; March 24, 1890 – July 18, 1899; April 9, 1883 – March 9, 1886; May 11, 1894 – September 1, 1909[88][11]
Robert B. Elliott –
Barnwell County commissioner (also U.S. Congress, South Carolina Attorney General, South Carolina Constitutional Convention, and South Carolina House)[87]
William James Whipper – judge of probate Beaufort County (also South Carolina House and South Carolina Constitutional Convention)[88][p]
Tennessee
Only one African American served in the Tennessee Legislature during the 1870s, but more than a dozen followed in the 1880s as Republicans retook the governorship.[94] They advocated for schools for African Americans, spoke against segregated public facilities, and advocated for voting rights protections.[95]
Norris Wright Cuney – 12th district member of the
Galveston Board of Aldermen 1883 (also U.S. Customs Collector)
Vermont
Local offices
Stephen Bates, Sheriff of
Vergennes and the first Black chief law enforcement officer in Vermont history, 1879
Virginia
In 2012, the Virginia Senate enacted Joint Resolution No. 89, recognizing that Reconstruction in Virginia lasted from 1869 to 1890 due to
Jim Crow laws; federal Reconstruction ended in 1877.[126]
Francis Lewis Cardozo – U.S Postal Service auditor for the United Nates Department of Treasury 1878–1888 (also South Carolina Secretary of State, South Carolina Treasurer, and South Carolina Constitutional Convention)[88]
^
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabacBlocked from office by racial state legislation during 1868 and 1869. After an 1869 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, they were reseated in January 1870.
^Turner may not have served as postmaster according to the U.S. Postal Service.
^When he became Louisiana's Lieutenant Governor, Oscar James Dunn was the first African American elected to a state-level position in the United States.
^Pierre Caliste Landry was the first elected African American mayor in the United States.
^
abcdefAll-African American towns that existed in the Indian Territory in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but no longer exist today, include Lee, Lincoln, Udora, and Wellington. For more information, refer to "All-Black Towns" in
The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.
^Gleaves was elected to a third term as Lt. Governor in 1876 but the Democrats forced him to withdraw.
^Lomax was elected to the South Carolina House in 1869 but died in January 1870 before the legislature convened.
^
abcdAssassinated by the Ku-Klux Klan, according to H. A. Wallace.
^Wright was the first African American to occupy a judicial position in the United States.
^Murdered during a white mob attack on February 22, 1898.
^Smalls lost this position in 1913 when newly installed President Woodrow Wilson segregated federal offices.
^Allen was the first African American elected to a municipal judgeship in the United States.
^Bouey was elected county sheriff in 1876 but was not granted the position.
^Whipper was elected by the legislature a Circuit Court Judge but Governor
Chamberlain refused to commission him.
^Office of the Historian.
"The Election of Samuel Peters of Louisiana". Historical Highlights, History, Art & Archives. Office of the Clerk, House of Representatives of the United States. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
^Rose, James A. (1906).
"Forty-First General Assembly 1898-1900". Blue Book of the State of Illinois. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Journal Co., State Printers. p. 365 – via Google Books.
^Scott, Rebecca J.; Hébrard, Jean M. (2014). "Rosalie of the Poulard Nation: Freedom, Law, and Dignity in the Era of the Haitian Revolution". In Sweet, John Wood; Lindsay, Lisa A. (eds.). Biography and the Black Atlantic. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University. pp. 116–143.
ISBN978-0-8122-0870-2.
OCLC868967268.
^
ab"Avoyelles Parish Sheriffs". The Marksville Weekly News. September 13, 2007. p. 12. Retrieved January 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^
abcdeWork, Monroe N. and Napier, J.C. (January 1920). "Some Negro Members of Reconstruction Conventions and Legislatures and of Congress" (PDF). The Journal of Negro History. 5 (1): 113-118. Retrieved January 13, 2023 – via JSTOR.
^"Biographies". This Honorable Body: African American Legislatures in 19th Century Tennessee. Tennessee State Library and Archives. 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (September 8, 2020).
"Burley, D. W."Handbook of Texas Online (2nd ed.). Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M.; Carr, Anthony L. (August 1, 2014).
"Cotton, Giles". Handbook of Texas Online (2nd ed.). Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (October 21, 2020).
"Dupree, J. Goldsteen". Handbook of Texas Online (2nd ed.). Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (January 1, 1995).
"Freeman, Jacob E."Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (October 22, 2020).
"Geiger, Harriel G."Handbook of Texas Online (2nd ed.). Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (November 18, 2020).
"Kerr, Robert A."Handbook of Texas Online (2nd ed.). Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M; Carr, Anthony L. (February 24, 2015).
"Medlock, David, Jr". Handbook of Texas Online (2nd ed.). Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^
abLucko, Paul M. (April 1, 1995).
"Mitchell, John". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (April 1, 1995).
"Moore, Henry". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^
abBarr, Alwyn (November 23, 2017).
"Mullens, Shepherd". Handbook of Texas Online (2nd ed.). Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (May 1, 1995).
"Phelps, Henry". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Nabors, Daniel J. (January 27, 2021).
"Sledge, Alonzo L."Handbook of Texas Online (2nd ed.). Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Pitre, Merline (July 27, 2022).
"Williams, Benjamin Franklin". Texas State Historical Association (2nd ed.). Retrieved January 22, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (August 1, 1995).
"Williams, Richard". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (September 1, 1995).
"Wyatt, George W."Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (January 29, 2016).
"Bryant, Charles W."Handbook of Texas Online (2nd ed.). Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (December 1, 1994).
"Curtis, Stephen". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (December 1, 1994).
"Davis, Bird B."Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (April 27, 2019).
"Johnson, Wiley". Handbook of Texas Online (2nd ed.). Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (November 22, 2020).
"Long, Ralph". Texas State Historical Association (2nd ed.). Retrieved January 21, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (April 1, 1995).
"McCabe, Lloyd Henry". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (September 23, 2020).
"McWashington, James". Handbook of Texas Online (2nd ed.). Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (September 28, 2020).
"Reynolds, William". Handbook of Texas Online (2nd ed.). Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^Lucko, Paul M. (August 1, 1995).
"Watrous, Benjamin O."Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
Bailey, Richard. Neither Carpetbaggers Nor Scalawags: Black Officeholders During the Reconstruction of Alabama, 1867–1878. Montgomery: Richard Bailey Publishers, 1995.
ISBN978-0962721809