Joseph Rainey: 150th Anniversary Exhibition

/tiles/non-collection/e/ex_rainey_exhibition_panorama_ocomm.xml Image courtesy of the Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives

• U.S. Capitol, House Connecting Corridor
• December 2020–present

The Joseph Rainey: 150th Anniversary exhibition celebrates the pathbreaking accomplishment of Joseph Rainey of South Carolina. On December 12, 1870, Rainey took the oath of office, becoming the first African American in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The exhibition, now open in the first floor House Connecting Corridor, highlights Rainey’s impact and that of other African-American Representatives who followed in his footsteps. The power and importance of African-American voting rights are at the heart of the exhibition. Artifacts, documents, historical images, and the words of African-American legislators highlight the tumultuous history of securing those rights.

To learn more about the Joseph Rainey: 150th Anniversary exhibition, contact the Office of Art & Archives at art@mail.house.gov or 202-226-1300.

Take a look at the exhibition and a few of its featured objects.

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Quick Look

Take a quick look at Joseph Rainey: 150th Anniversary, an exhibition in the Capitol celebrating the pathbreaking accomplishment of Joseph Rainey, the first African American in the U.S. House of Representatives, and other Black Representatives who followed in his footsteps.

Item 1/10

Joseph Hayne Rainey

Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives Learn more about Joseph Hayne Rainey, and about this object.

Item 2/10

“To Thine Own Self Be True”

Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives Learn more about this object.

Item 3/10

Benjamin Franklin Butler Match Safe

Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives Learn more about Benjamin Franklin Butler, and about this object.

Item 4/10

Anti-Lynching Petition

Image courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration Learn more about this record.

Item 5/10

Jet Magazine, William Levi Dawson

Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives Learn more about William Levi Dawson.

Item 6/10

Augustus Freeman (Gus) Hawkins Lapel Pin

Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives Learn more about Augustus Freeman (Gus) Hawkins, and about this object.

Item 7/10

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Image courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration Learn more about this record.

Item 8/10

Barbara Charline Jordan

Image courtesy of the Library of Congress Learn more about Barbara Charline Jordan.

Item 9/10

Shirley Anita Chisholm

Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives Learn more about Shirley Anita Chisholm, and about this object.

Item 10/10

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