On this date, the Fifty-fifth U.S. Congress (1897–1899) convened with only one Black representative: George H. White of North Carolina. He was the last African American to serve in Congress during the post-Reconstruction era. White’s departure in 1901 marked the beginning of a nearly 30-year absence of Black representation in the U.S. Congress, a result of widespread voter suppression and Jim Crow laws in the South.
© 2025 KnowThyHistory.com. Know Thy History
