From 1776 to present day, only five African Americans have ever served in the United States Senate. Hiram Revels (R – Mississippi) was appointed in 1870 to fill a vacant seat for one year. He was followed in 1874 by Blanche Bruce (R – Mississippi); no other black Senator has been elected to the Senate from the South to this day, over 100 years later. The first black Senator elected by popular vote was Edward Brooke (R – Massachusetts) in 1966, followed by Carol Moseley Braun (D – Illinois) in 1992. The fifth, of course, is Barack Obama (D – Illinois), elected in 2004 and currently running for the United States Presidency.
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I was prompted in this inquiry while listening to The Civil War musical soundtrack, not any current political situation. However, since it is currently of interest during this election cycle, I’ll point out that there have been 35 women Senators, 16 of whom are currently serving (an all time high).