BLACK IN TIME: A Moment In OUR History - Blanche K. Bruce Born (792 hits)
Blanche Kelso Bruce
Blanche Kelso Bruce, The First Black To Serve A Full Term In The United States Senate, Was Born A Slave In Prince Edward County, Virginia, March 1, 1841, To A Plantation Owner And His Slave/Lover.
He Established The First School For Black Americans In Hannibal, Missouri In 1864. This Was The First School Of Its Kind In The State.
Bruce Moved To Mississippi And Became A Wealthy Planter. He Held Offices As Tax Collector, School Superintendent, Levee Board Member, Sheriff, And Eventually State Senator. He Represented Mississippi As A Republican In The United States Senate From 1875 to 1881.
In 1881, President James A. Garfield Appointed Bruce The Register of the Treasury -- Making Him first Black Whose Signature Was Represented On United States Paper Currency.
Bruce Was A Major Reconstruction Politician And During His Tenure He Defended Minority Rights --- Including Those Of Black Americans, Native Americans And Chinese Americans.
He Also Fought Washington Corruption. He Chaired The Select Commitee That Investigated The Failed Freedman's Savings & Trust Company. Bruce Successfully Recovered Most Of The Investments Made By 61,000 Black American Depositors.
Blanche K. Bruce Died In Washington, DC On March 17, 1898. His Home, Located At 909 M. Street N.W., Washington DC, Was Designated A National Historic Landmark In 1975.
"In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It." -- Hubert Gaddy, Jr.
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