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In honor of Black history month, I will be profiling notable African Americans from Georgia throughout February. The first profile is of the first African American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia, Congressman Jefferson Long of Macon.



 

Born on March 3, 1836 in Knoxville, Georgia, Jefferson Long would go on to become the second African American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and ultimately the first African American Congressman to speak on the House floor.

Long made his living as a tailor, opening a small but successful shop in Macon, Georgia, mostly catering to the affluent white population. Through his well-to-do clientele’s connections, Long was able to break into politics.

Immediately following the Civil War, a factional divide broke out within the Republican Party. While the Confederate states had rejoined the Union, radical Republicans placed harsh penalties on the former Confederate states. As a result, from 1865-1877, many districts in the south became safe Republican districts. Using this to their advantage, Georgia Republicans encouraged black candidates to run for shortened office terms and Jefferson Long began campaigning for the U.S. House of Representatives. 

On the night before the election, Long furiously orchestrated a last minute campaign blitz across the district, urging blacks to support the Republican ticket. The next day, Long organized a march to the polls, where he was met by armed white southerners. A riot ensued, killing four and preventing a number of blacks from voting. Despite this fact, Long won 53 percent of the vote and narrowly defeated the Democratic candidate Winburn J. Lawton. Congressman Jefferson Long took his seat in the House of Representatives one month after Congressman Joseph Rainey of South Carolina, making him the 2^nd African-American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

On February 1, 1871, he would become the first African-American to speak on the House floor when he spoke out against allowing former Confederates to return to Congress. The measure was ultimately defeated and after serving three months in Congress, Long returned to life as a private citizen while remaining an active part of the radical Republican wing in Georgia.

Long would be the last African-American Representative elected from Georgia until Congressman Andrew Young defeated Republican Rodney Cook in 1972.  That campaign was my first real introduction into elected politics. I volunteered for the Andrew Young campaign and two years later, I ran my own race for the Georgia House of Representatives. Then-Congressman Andrew Young helped me win that seat. In 2002, I was elected to US Congress. Andrew Young was yet again, part of my successful leadership team.

Source Material

Jefferson Franklin Long" in Black Americans in Congress, 1870-2007. Prepared under the direction of the Committee on House Administration by the Office of History & Preservation, U.S. House of Representatives. Washington: Government Printing Office, 2008.

Image courtesy of georgiaencyclopedia.org