Scott Colom Makes History in Mississippi. Two Other Black Men Did the Same 150 Years Before Him
The victory makes Colom the state’s first Black U.S. senator since Reconstruction, echoing Revels’ 1870 rise after a contested legislative vote.
- On Wednesday, the Associated Press called the Mississippi Senate race for Democrat Scott Colom, who claimed victory as the state's first Black senator since Reconstruction.
- Colom's election marks a historic milestone, as he is the first Black senator from Mississippi chosen directly by voters rather than state lawmakers in nearly 150 years.
- Mississippi's previous Black senators, Hiram Rhodes Revels and Blanche Kelso Bruce, served during the 12-year Reconstruction era following the Civil War, when the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were adopted.
- Unlike Colom, Mississippi's previous Black senators were Republicans; Revels served until March 3, 1871, and Bruce served from 1875 to 1881.
- Revels was elected by the Mississippi Legislature in 1870 to fill a vacancy left by Albert Gallatin Brown, who resigned to join the Confederate army.
29 Articles
29 Articles
ESPN's Wright Thompson 'really emotional' over Scott Colom win in Mississippi
Wright Thompson felt the tide turning in his home state of Mississippi long before U.S. Senator-elect Scott Colom, a Democrat, pulled off the unthinkable with his victory this week. Some would call Thompson the greatest living American sportswriter, but he’s not just unique for his gifts as a storyteller. Thompson is also the rare major…
Mississippi elects first Black senator as Scott Colom makes history
It has long been the US state with the highest percentage of Black residents, currently just shy of 40%, but it was also the epicentre of the Jim Crow system of segregation. When Martin Luther King addressed a quarter of a million people in Washington in August 1963, he described Mississippi as a state sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression – and longed for the day it would be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. This …
Scott Colom makes history in Mississippi, winning U.S. Senate seat
JACKSON, Miss.—Democrat Scott Colom has won Mississippi’s U.S. Senate race, becoming the first Black senator from the state since Reconstruction and the first Democrat it has sent to the Senate since 1982. With 99% of the vote counted, he led Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith 49.2% to 48.7%, a margin of 4,669 votes out of more […]
Winnipeg Free Press
Scott Colom makes history in Mississippi. Two other Black men did the same 150 years before him
When Scott Colom takes the oath of office for the U.S. Senate in January, he will not be the first Black senator from Mississippi to make history. But he will be the first in nearly 150 years and the first chosen by voters rather than state lawmakers.
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