Making His First Speech in the House of Representatives, January 16, 1891.

John Mercer Langston, Virginia's first African American member of Congress, addresses the U.S. House of Representatives on January 16, 1891. Langston spoke in support of the so-called Force Bill, which would have provided for the supervision of federal elections to guarantee the fair treatment of all voters, both black and white. The Senate refused to consider the bill.

Citation: From the Virginia Plantation to the National Capitol; or, The First and Only Negro Representative in Congress from the Old Dominion. E185.97 .L27 1894. Special Collections, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.