Who was the first African American to serve in Congress, taking over Jefferson Davis's Senate seat?

• A. Hiram Rhodes Revels
• B. Frederick Douglass
• C. Booker T. Washington
• D. Thurgood Marshall

Answer: (A)

This is about recognizing the first African American to serve in the U.S. Congress. Hiram Rhodes Revels became the first in 1870, filling the Senate seat from Mississippi that had been held by Jefferson Davis. His election marked a historic breakthrough during Reconstruction, showing that African Americans could reach the national legislature, even though his time in the Senate was brief. The other figures—Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, and Thurgood Marshall—were all influential leaders, but none of them served in the U.S. Senate (Douglass never held federal office, Washington focused on education and civil rights, and Marshall later became a Supreme Court justice).