REVELS, HIRAM R.

REVELS, HIRAM R. Although Blanche K. Bruce was the first African American to serve a full term (1875-1881) in the U. S. Senate, Hiram R. Revels was actually the first black to win election to that body, filling out an unexpired Mississippi term (1870-71) in the seat previously occupied by Jefferson Davis. Following his brief political career, Revels was appointed presi­dent of Alcorn College and then, in 1876, became editor of the Southwestern Christian Advocate, a religion-oriented journal. He died at the age of seventy-nine in 1901.