The First African American to Speak in the House Chamber

Image courtesy of Library of Congress This 1882 print of “Distinguished Colored Leaders” featured Preacher Henry Garnet among notables such as Representative Joseph Rainey of South Carolina, Representative John Langston of Virginia, Senator Blanche K. Bruce of Mississippi, and Frederick Douglass.

On this date, Preacher Henry Highland Garnet became the first African American to speak in the House Chamber when he addressed a crowd of worshippers. During the nineteenth century, the House Chamber regularly hosted religious services and other large meetings when the House was not in session. House Chaplain William Henry Channing had invited Garnet to commemorate the House’s approval of the Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery two weeks earlier on January 31, 1865. Garnet spoke to a crowded chamber and challenged Congress to “Emancipate, Enfranchise, [and to] Educate.” A choir from his Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church accompanied his remarks. Of slavery, Garnet said, “Upon the total and complete destruction of this accursed sin depends the safety and perpetuity of our Republic and its excellent institutions.” Prior to Garnet’s sermon, African Americans had been largely excluded from the Capitol and its grounds for decades before the Civil War. By the 37th Congress (1861–1863), Black visitors began to observe proceedings from the House Gallery. Nearly two weeks before Garnet’s address, John S. Rock visited the House Floor after he became the first Black lawyer to be admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1869, John W. Menard became the first African American to address the House in session during his contested election case. In 1871, Representative Jefferson Long of Georgia became the first Black Member of Congress to speak on the House Floor when he opposed a bill to restore full political rights to former Confederates.