John Mercer Langston, a prominent abolitionist, educator, and politician, died at the age of 67 in Washington, D.C. He was the first African American elected to public office in the United States (as town clerk in Ohio, 1855) and later became the first Black U.S. Congressman from Virginia. Langston also served as the founding dean of the law department at Howard University and was a tireless advocate for civil rights and Black education.
Tragically, 1897 also marked a grim chapter in American history, with 123 African Americans reported lynched that year—highlighting the harsh and dangerous racial climate in which Langston lived and fought for justice.
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