WASHINGTON – Lorna Rainey can only imagine what it was like for her great grandfather to enter the United States Capitol in Washington, DC, 151 years ago.
Against a backdrop that many would consider insurmountable odds, Joseph Hayne Rainey, born a slave, entered the Capitol building as the first African-American member of the U.S. House of Representatives in December 1870.
“I often think about what it must have been like for him that first day he entered the Capitol to enter the assembly. And he was the only one, the only black man, ”Rainey told VOA. “My great-grandfather was prepared to be in Congress. He had a steel core, but he became a very moving figure over the years he was there, ”she said.
Lorna Rainey was just 3 years old when her great aunt started sharing stories about Joseph Rainey’s incredible place in history.
“It just fascinated me to know that he came out of slavery and, 38 years later, was elected deputy. How can that be? “Rainey said.” You know, there was something inside him that said, ‘I’m not going to give up, and once I get to Washington, watch what I’m going to do.’ ”
Even as America celebrates Black History Month, which ends next week, the individual achievements of African Americans like Joseph Rainey are often overlooked. Now, his service to the country is beginning to receive greater recognition.
“Joseph Rainey is someone who can be described as the founding father of our nation,” said Bobby Donaldson, professor of history at the University of South Carolina. “He literally helped to rebuild this country after the Civil War and helped to imagine a nation after emancipation during this extraordinary era called Reconstruction, ”Donaldson told VOA.
Early life
Joseph Rainey was born in 1832 in Georgetown, South Carolina. His father used his earnings as a barber to buy family freedom in the 1840s. The younger Rainey also became a barber, serving a clientele of white Southerners.
During the Civil War, he was summoned by the Confederation to do forced labor, but he fled to Bermuda, where he and his wife started a business.
“Some of his abolitionist friends, and probably his former barbershop customers, helped get him out of Charleston and take him to Bermuda,” Lorna Rainey told VOA.
His great-grandfather returned to South Carolina in 1866 to launch his political career. Records suggest that he was determined to help rebuild the country after the war.
Republican, he was elected to the South Carolina legislature and helped draft a new state constitution that defended the equality of citizens.
“One of the things that resulted directly from the 1868 constitution was the notion of free public education for all citizens. And Joseph Rainey helped shape that, ”said Donaldson.
As a representative of the USA, Joseph Rainey defended civil rights, education and economic opportunities for all. He served for nine years and inspired the political career of about 15 African Americans who served in Congress during the 10-year Reconstruction period after the Civil War.
He was an early advocate of two fundamental civil rights protections for the United States Constitution – the 14th Amendment, which granted full citizenship (and equal protection of laws) to all people born in America, including former African slaves; and the 15th Amendment, which prohibited the federal government and states from denying a citizen the right to vote based on “race, color or previous condition of servitude”.
“Rainey was trying to get around obvious obstacles to white supremacy and racial injustice, even though he was one of the most powerful and popular African Americans in the country,” noted Donaldson.
Changing times
Rainey’s political career ended after he lost re-election in 1878.
In the late 19th century, repressive “Jim Crow” laws were enacted across the southern United States by state legislatures controlled by white Democrats. The decrees imposed racial segregation and deprived and withdrew the political gains made by African Americans during the reconstruction.
“His black supporters were prevented from voting for him,” Donaldson told VOA. “In South Carolina, there was an effort by white Democrats to intimidate black voters by violent means.”
In his farewell speech to other lawmakers in 1879, Rainey warned of the problems to come.
“In a short space of time, everything he predicted was happening, as African Americans across the South lost their positions, lost their land and lost the power to vote,” said Donaldson.
Keeping the legacy alive
Last year, the United States House of Representatives named Rainey in a room in the Capitol building and paid tribute to him with a portrait hanging in the halls of Congress.
“There was a deliberate effort by very notable historians to undermine, marginalize, erase people like Joseph Rainey from history books. Now, he’s getting the kind of attention he deserves, ”said Donaldson.
“He laid the foundation for generations of black legislators to serve in Congress,” said South Carolina Congressman James Clyburn, who as the majority leader in the House is the most powerful African American in the House of Representatives. “I always loved Joseph Rainey.”
For her part, Lorna Rainey is producing a documentary about her great-grandfather.
“We need to tell the world about their achievements,” she said. “I think Joseph Rainey’s life can inspire people to dig deep, understand what you want to accomplish, never give up and never give up.”
Editor’s note: This article has been corrected to reflect that Joseph Rainey’s father bought family freedom in the 1840s, not in the 1940s, as was wrongly stated.