John A. Hyman
Warrenton, Warren County, North Carolina
Marker Inscription
John A. Hyman 1840 1891. First black to represent N.C. in U.S. Congress, 1875-1877; state senator, 1868-1874. Home is one block west.
Erected by North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources
The Story
John A. Hyman (1840–1891) became the first African American to represent North Carolina in the United States Congress, serving from 1875 to 1877, after earlier terms as a state senator during Reconstruction. Born into slavery, he rose to political leadership in the brief window when Black men held office across the postwar South. His home stood a block to the west.
Why it matters
Hyman's election marked a milestone in Black political representation, part of the Reconstruction experiment in multiracial democracy later cut short by disenfranchisement.
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