Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 264, to rename the Post Office in Georgetown, South Carolina, the Joseph Hayne Rainey Memorial Post Office. A man, a trailblazer of many firsts, a civil rights pioneer, an American hero that I had never heard of before I got to Congress; I first learned of him because his portrait hangs on the wall in the halls of the House of Representatives. Joseph Rainey was the first African-American Member of the United States House of Representatives. Rainey was born into slavery in Georgetown in 1832. His father was a slave, but also a barber, and used his earnings to buy freedom for himself and his family, including Joseph. During the Civil War, Joseph Rainey was conscripted into the Confederate Army, but he escaped to Bermuda with his family and built a prosperous business as a barber. In 1866, he returned to Georgetown, where he became the county's Republican Party Chairman. In 1870, he was elected to the United States Congress, where he served until 1879. Think about that for a moment. The first African American to serve in the United States Congress was a former slave and a Republican from Georgetown, South Carolina. His tenure in Congress was distinguished by its advancement of civil rights, equality, and opportunity for all. He fought against violence and intimidation toward African Americans. In 1878, as Reconstruction was ending, he was defeated in his last race for Congress.…”