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 took the oath of office, and became the first African American to preside over the Senate in 1879. It would be nearly another century before Edward Brooke of Massachusetts followed in their historic footsteps in 1967.

In 1993 Carol Moseley Braun broke another barrier, becoming the first African American female 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, but the role of African Americans in Senate history is not limited to those who served in elected office.
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