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Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/File:First colored senator and reps.jpg

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Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 7 Dec 2012 at 09:13:23 (UTC)

Original – The first United States Senator and Representatives of colour, from an 1872 lithograph by Currier and Ives. (Left to right) Senator Hiram Revels of Mississippi, Representatives Benjamin Turner of Alabama, Robert DeLarge of South Carolina, Josiah Walls of Florida, Jefferson Long of Georgia, Joseph Rainey and Robert B. Elliot of South Carolina.

This was from a short-lived period of relative racial equality after the American Civil War, which, unfortunately, led to such practices as white-only primaries, Jim Crow laws, poll taxes, and other attempts to restrict the rights of Americans of colour to vote. Thought we should have as much material as possible for Black History Month, and this is a little-known but important part of United States history. I'd like to have all of February devoted to the subject. It's not like it's not an extremely varied field in its own right.

Anyway, back to the picture. Ironically, all these men were Republicans. The parties have actually switched sides on quite a lot of issues since the 1800s; it's somewhat weird to see the party that first elected blacks be the one that currently has a scandal where Florida's former Republican governor is saying they have given up any hope of attracting black votes, so are trying to suppress the black vote. But, let's not get too political.

Reason
It shows an interesting part of U.S. History that has been all but forgotten.
Articles in which this image appears
FP category for this image
Wikipedia:Featured_pictures/History/USA_History seems the best target.
Creator
Currier and Ives, restoration Adam Cuerden

Promoted File:First Colored Senator and Representatives.jpg --Julia\talk 19:09, 8 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]