United States House of Representatives: History, Art, & Archives
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Black Americans in Congress

Historical Data

In February of 1965, following the arrest of Martin Luther King, Jr., a multiracial, bipartisan Congressional delegation traveled to Selma, Alabama./tiles/non-collection/B/BAICdata_PA2011_07_0013b-2.xml Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives
About this object In February of 1965, following the arrest of Martin Luther King, Jr., a multiracial, bipartisan Congressional delegation traveled to Selma, Alabama.
The following lists were developed to answer reference questions often posed by Member offices, researchers, and the general public. Sixty-one of the 175 African Americans who have served in Congress are current Members—58 in the House and three in the Senate. In total, there have been 165 Black Members of the House of Representatives and eleven Senators. One has served in both chambers.

Senator Hiram Revels of Mississippi and Representative Joseph Rainey of South Carolina became the first African Americans to serve in Congress in 1870. There have been 52 Black women who have served in Congress. The first Black woman elected to Congress, Shirley Chisholm of New York, won election to the House in 1968.

Office of the Historian: history@mail.house.gov
Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Clerk: art@mail.house.gov, archives@mail.house.gov