We honor the many African Americans who have enriched the history of the Senate. In 1870, Hiram Revels of Mississippi became the first African American senator. Five years later, Blanche K. Bruce of Mississippi (in portrait) took the oath of office, and became the first African American to preside over the Senate in 1879. It would be nearly another century, until 1967, before Edward Brooke of Massachusetts followed in their historic footsteps. In 1993, Carol Moseley-Braun broke another barrier, becoming the first African American woman senator. In January of 2005, Barack Obama of Illinois brought the number to five. When Senator Obama resigned from office to become the 44th President of the United States in 2009, the Illinois governor appointed Roland Burris to fill the vacant seat. These distinguished individuals have enriched the history of the Senate. Yet the role of African Americans in Senate history is not limited to those who served in elected office.  More on Black History Month

"Washington, D.C.—The Electoral Contest—The United States Senators Entering the House of Representatives, with the Electoral Certificates, to Re-open the Joint Session, February 12th." by Unidentified after Harry Ogden. Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper,1877-03-03. To learn more about this event read Isaac Bassett's account of "Counting the Votes in February 1877".

In her 45 years of service on Capitol Hill, Christine McCreary saw great changes in both the Senate and in Washington, D.C. She left Bethune-Cookman College to come to the capital as a secretary during World War II. While working in the Federal Security Administration typing pool, she was called to take dictation for the chairman of the National Security Board, Stuart Symington. Symington was impressed with her work and invited her to join his staff when he became director of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and when he was elected to the Senate as a Missouri Democrat in 1952. McCreary was one of the first African American staff members to challenge the de facto segregation that existed by dining regularly in the staff cafeterias.