41 | Lord Give Me a Sign | It’s the Senate, and We in It
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You know, Conscious, the U.S. Congress has the very important job of making laws that affect us every single day. But man, those chambers are often full of BS and drama. The one that's really sticking out to me is the one about the eyelashes. Miss Mama has so much to say about wearing eyelashes.

Is that the bleach bond? Bleach bond, bad bond. You know, the song is great. It gave us, for all of Marjorie Taylor Greene's ignorance, it gave us an absolute bop of a response. It was the clap back heard around the world. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Wow. I wonder how she felt hearing it on social media. And what's wild is that there are some high offices, but Congress members don't always live up to it at all.

Occasionally, there are some new folks who come in and shake things up, though, cutting through all of the nonsense. Yeah, we need disruptors in Congress, folks who are willing to say no when everybody else is saying yes, yes. In addition to folks who are ready to sit down and be the first and the only. So let's get into some Black history for real. It's February 23rd, 1870.

Republican Hiram Revels walks into the chilly U.S. Senate chamber with his head held high. Black folks in the city are welcoming him with open arms, but he's got a feeling it ain't going to be the same for the Senators. Slavery ended five years ago and a free black man is walking in their chambers. Racist Democrats are insulted.

But Hiram ain't make it all the way to D.C. for the Mississippi just to get scared now. The Senate's been around for almost a hundred years and never had a Black person in it. He meets the Democrats' ice-cold glances with a confident gaze. He's been elected senator. Only one thing can make it official. Hiram's swearing in.

Republican Senator Henry Wilson got a strong history for supporting abolition and civil rights. He reads Hiram credentials. If nobody objects, then Hiram will take his oath of office. Hiram's heart races as Henry finishes reading. He sighs with relief. Then the room erupts in fury. Democratic Senator Willard Salisbury pipes up. Object to this man's election.

Hyrum's stomach sinks. Willard's not about to let them swear in a black man. Mr. President, a provisional governor certifies revels election. Neither the Constitution nor the U.S. government gives a provisional governor the right to do that. Republican scholar Koufax is the vice president of the U.S. and Senate president. He comes to Hyrum's defense.

Senator Salisbury, provisional governors have certified Senate elections before. Hiram's getting agitated. His Senate seat's not guaranteed. Willard jumps in. This is a morbid state of affairs. First, the House. Now, the Senate. Infested with colored men. He should not be allowed to take his seat, and many other fine senators here agree with me. That's insanity. Infested?

This isn't about military governors or citizenship. This is a matter of race. They cannot stand seeing me here because I'm black. Skylar motions for Hiram to sit down. But Hiram stands his ground. God set him on his path. He knows this deep down in his soul.

He gots a real chance to uplift black folks in the country, but the willpower of white supremacists have broken black dreams many, many times before. It might shatter his too. Hiram's gonna need a miracle to become the first ever black United States Senator.

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From Wondery, this is Black History For Real, where we chronicle the stories of movers and shakers from Black history all over the world. The stories will inspire you, educate you, and more often than not, leave you shaking your damn heads. I'm Francesca Ramsey. And I'm Conscious Lee. Today, we're exploring the history of Black senators.

And it ain't really that long of a history, if we're being honest. There haven't been that many black folks in the U.S. Senate. It's called the Senate and we ain't in it, you know? White folks use racist laws to keep us out or they turn to straight up physical violence. But in true blackity black fashion, we made sure we got a seat in chamber. Hiram Revels and Blanche Bruce refused to bow to white supremacist pressure. This is episode one.

Lord, give me a sign. Hiram Rhodes Revels is born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, sometime around September 27, 1827. Slavery dominates the region's economy. Hiram's free, though, and he's light-skinned. His mom's got Scottish roots, and his dad is of African descent.

Hiram's daddy is a Baptist preacher, and we all know the pressure a preacher kid's facing. This drives Hiram to be a good Christian. He wants to lead his folks far from evil and onto a righteous path.

Hiram's got some privileges over enslaved Black people. A huge one is education. Free Black folks can't go to school. But after Nat Turner's uprising in 1831, white people get scared. North Carolina passes a new law. It's illegal to teach any Black person to read or write. Nearly one in three people in North Carolina are enslaved in the mid-1800s. Hiram's people are suffering under the horrible, ungodly institution of chattel slavery.

He's got to get away from the institution, but his distance won't guarantee his survival. In 1844, Hiram kicks North Carolina to the curb and heads north to Indiana, then Ohio for school. But he's really destined for the ministry. The AME Church was founded by black folks in the early 1800s. They heavy in the anti-slavery bag, too. Hiram's drawn to the AME Church and becomes a pastor.

It's his chance to lead black folks to salvation, spiritually and mentally. But Hiram's spirit is unsettled. Racism's a devil. Hiram's got a good grasp on what it means to be a good Christian. And those racist terrorists ain't it. His God calls for him to fight white supremacy and bring others on the journey. It's time for Hiram to spread the gospel far and wide. But not everyone wants to listen.

Hiram makes his way around the country, sharing the good word in states like Kansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee. He preaches to white and black folks free from enslavement. On the road in the South, white folks are high alert for uprisings.

Hiram's gotta be careful about what he says, but his heart is with Black people. Black churches are sites of refuge where people fleeing slavery find shelter. - Hiram's message ain't resonating with everybody though. Folks debate slavery and freedom in the church. Congregants want Hiram to do more. They want a leader who spits facts about the evils of slavery without sugar-coating it. Hiram's not as militant as they want him to be, but he's gotta keep walking in the faith.

Hiram is willing to go wherever his preaching takes him, including Missouri. Now, Missouri isn't the chillest place to plant roots. It's illegal for Black folks who are already free to move to the state. White folks are afraid they'll incite rebellion.

Hiram is supposed to have a license to live in the state, but he never gets it. In 1853, Hiram becomes pastor at an AME church in St. Louis. He does his best not to stir the pot, but he don't play that. If he's caught preaching about abolition, he may go to jail or he might even be killed. He ain't on enslavers instigators radar yet.

But Hirons' passionate prayers don't keep him from catching heat in the suffocating state of Missouri. Truth be told, the Lord answers his prayers in dangerous ways. And Black folks are still suffering at the hand of wicked white folks. Down in Virginia, another child is born into slavery and other folks' sins. Blanche Bruce grows up enslaved in the 1850s South.

His life is way different from Hiram's. His black mother, Polly, gives birth on a Virginia plantation. His father, Pettus, is their enslaver and his mother's rapist. Blanche has several siblings, including an older brother, Henry Clay Bruce. Henry idealizes plantation life and says he and his enslaved brother are tenderly treated.

So if I was to say that the slave master was the original deadbeat dad of America, would that be a false statement? Yo, I don't I don't know if they're ready to hear that. But yeah, that is that is true. That's 1000 percent true. And honestly, like this is dark. But even like using deadbeat, I feel like there's layers to that. You know what I'm saying? It's like you not you not paying no money and then you assault your children.

Assaulting their mama. You get tied up. You just sell them to a different plantation. Make you smoke. I mean, that is, I've never heard anyone make that connection. And think about it too. There were certain states that had to pass laws because a lot of the wives of slave masters would be like, this child looks so much like my husband. I'm going to beat that. I'm going to beat him to death every time I seen him. So there's certain states that had to pass laws to be like, hey, listen, I know you mad, but you cannot beat the slaves to death.

A whole nother, a whole nother, like, deadbeat dad. Like, yeah, you let them people deadbeat on your, just my mind. So, you know, sometimes it's just. No, I know. I hear you. I hear how the connection was made, but it's a pretty sobering one. Lance's hands are calloused and bleed from tough work in the fields. His family members are sold off and torn away from each other.

It's a small mercy, but Blanche, his mother, and his siblings stay together.

Somehow Blanche finds the willpower to study. He'll take that knowledge with him wherever he goes. Blanche's white half-brother, Willie Perkinson, teaches him to read. Blanche learns another lesson too. Relationships with white folks can, sometimes, work out in his favor. But it doesn't take a lot for trust to turn into treachery. It's the eve of the Civil War and folks are taking sides. A bloody battle is on the horizon.

Willie claims he supports the union, but Blanche is about to find out just how different he and Willie are. Back in St. Louis, Hiram's preaching at the AME Church on the corner of 11th and Green Streets. One sermon gets the congregants pretty riled up. They might be sick of him skating around abolitionist issues, and they're going to make their voices heard. On October 18th, 1854, tensions boil over.

The chapel is packed full of black folks on a Wednesday evening. Hiram stands on the pulpit, scanning the room. The night air is unusually thick and heavy with silence. "God has not made us to be workhorses for vile people. But we should not rebel. We must move without violence, as God will want. We must wait." Hiram isn't hearing the calls of affirmation he normally gets. A group of folks walk in late looking upset, looking like trouble.

We must wait for as long as it takes to find our freedom. We cannot lower to their level. Some of you are insurrectionists, and that is not the godly way. David slew Goliath, and Pastor Revel's taking Goliath's side today. That ain't godly. Congregants rise and scream at each other. Hiram's hands shake. Violence is in the air.

Hiram doesn't have time to restore order. An unfamiliar man charges the pulpit. He shoves Hiram and the pastor tumbles onto a woman in the congregation. It's chaos. Members of Hiram's side are yelling, telling the unhappy folks they should leave the church. Members against Hiram are telling him to leave. He listens, dips out, running away from his second home, the church. It's starting to feel like preaching ain't enough.

Is God still ordering his steps? Soon, Hiram recognizes the divisions over slavery extend far beyond his congregations. He moves to Baltimore, where he's living and preaching when the Civil War begins in 1861. The soul of the nation is at stake. Hiram needs to move his fight from the pulpit to the podium. Hiram's questioning his entire life.

Meanwhile, Blanche Bruce still lives in bondage down in Missouri. And the Civil War is devastating the country. Thousands of people die in bloody battles. The future of millions of enslaved folks hangs in the balance. Blanche's white brother, Willie, picks his side in the war. Spoiler alert, it ain't Bruce's. Willie joins the Confederate Army.

Blanche feels betrayed. Willie swore he wanted to fight for the Union, but he flipped on a dime to protect his own and the status quo. Blanche isn't trying to be enslaved forever. In 1862, he escapes from his plantation and quietly makes his way to Lawrence, Kansas. He's free, but life's not all sweet in Kansas either.

Blanche steps out of bed on the morning of August 21st, 1863. He's staying at his friend's house. Blanche looks out the window. A plume of smoke rises against the bright blue sky outside. He runs to the window. Confederates ride by on horses, ready to fire their guns. Blanche can't stay. The Confederates will kill him on sight. He sprints out the house wearing nothing but a shirt and underwear.

You're all gonna die today. You going somewhere, boy?

Got plans? Blanche twists out of the Confederates' grasp. He flees behind a building and trips over a dead soldier. As Blanche takes off towards the river, he can't look back. But this might be the last time he ever sees anyone. Blood pours from the Confederates' arm, and he spurs his horse after Blanche. You think you're clever, huh, boy?

The Confederate catches up to him. He's reaching out, grazing Blanche's back, but Blanche is fast. He leaps into the Russian river. He's never swam faster in his life. - I will hunt you down and find you. - Downstream, Blanche crawls from the river and hides in the hollow of a tree. More than 150 people are killed when Confederate Colonel William Quadrill attacks Lawrence, including every Black person in the military. Blanche stays in his hiding spot till the sun goes down.

He's going back to Missouri. Better the devil he knows. Lawrence clearly isn't the place for him anymore. In 1868, the 14th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified. Black people are now full citizens. Hiram moves to Mississippi and takes advantage of Reconstruction-era progress. He's been called to follow God's word, and God wants more for his people.

In 1868, Hiram runs for alderman and notches and wins. The next year, he's elected to the Mississippi State Senate. He writes to a friend, "'We are determined that Mississippi shall be settled "'on the basis of justice and political and legal equality.'"

The Republicans in the state Senate are feeling Hiram. He's got great speaking skills and he's a man of God. In early 1870, they nominate him to the U.S. Senate. On February 23rd, he goes to the Senate chamber to be seated as the first black United States Senator. But the Democrats in the U.S. Senate fight like hell to keep him out of Congress. They object to his election, claiming that he hasn't been a citizen long enough

or he isn't a citizen period. They reaching for reasons to send Hiram away. Hiram's life and future are literally up for debate. On January 5th, 2024, an Alaska Airlines door plug tore away mid-flight, leaving a gaping hole in the side of a plane that carried 171 passengers. This heart-stopping incident was just the latest in a string of crises surrounding the aviation manufacturing giant Boeing.

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I'm Erlon Woods. I'm Nigel Poore. We're the hosts and creators of Ear Hustle from PRX's Radiotopia. When we met, I was doing time at San Quentin State Prison in California. And I was coming in as a volunteer. The stories we tell are probably not what people expect from a prison podcast.

The Democrats and Republicans do get out for three days in the Senate chamber. But on February 25th, 1870, Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner gives a closing statement.

Not too far from Hiram in Mississippi, Blanche Bruce left Missouri and he's looking for a good job.

A little bit of a class clout, as some would put it. There are a lot of Black folks in Mississippi who support the Republican Party, and Blanche is rubbing his hands together thinking about how he can play a big role in shaping and changing the country like Birdman would have been doing in the early 2000s. Gubernatorial candidate James Alcorn swears Black folks will have positions in his administration.

Blanche is intrigued. Going from enslaved to making laws for white folks would have been a wild come up. He starts going to Republican meetings in northwest Mississippi and rubs shoulders with white politicians. Blanche quickly gets a job as Surgeon at Arms for the state senate. He's in charge of keeping the state senators safe and secure.

Now he's got more access to the people and the process of the Republican Party. He's really starting to make a name for himself. No more slavery. No more letting white folks determine his destiny. It's time for him to create his own world. Out in D.C., Hiram's paving a path for Blanche to do just that. It's pretty damn radical to be the first Black United States senator. But Hiram's politically moderate as hell. And the country's in shambles.

Racists are dying inside because they lost their free labor. Black folks are capitalizing on the turbulence. How's he going to capitalize on his position for black people?

It's so interesting that Hiram was moderate as a preacher and then gets this opportunity to be a part of the Senate. And then despite being moderate, right? And despite being light-skinned, he's still too black. You know, it's like this thing of you can do whatever you think is going to make you more palatable, more safe, more closer to the systems of power. And it's never going to be enough, right?

And I can understand the impulse to think like, let me try my best to do this in a way that's gonna not rock the boat too much. But ultimately it's never worth it because there's never a right way to ask for your freedom, to ask for equal access and rights and opportunities. There's no nice way to do it. They're always gonna fight you on it no matter what. So you might as well,

throw caution to the wind and just do it. - Pretty much. Might as well ask for forgiveness and don't ask for permission because every time you ask for permission, they're making you get smaller and smaller to be able to fit the mold.

most of the time we think about the position that black folks have had historically in this country. I think that politically it's always about us being marginalized and having to prove our legitimacy while trying to survive that marginalization. And just learning so much about Hiram, I think that he contextualizes for a lot of different black politicians that's currently like now living, you know what I'm saying? Though like Donald Trump and the right wants us to believe that like Vice President Kamala Harris is the most left

this radical socialist communist revolutionary. Is she really not? She really, she really mild and moderate for y'all ass because we got something. If that's what you want, we got something for you. But it just show that like, you know what I'm saying, to your point, it's like to some people,

She ain't black enough to others. She too black. Exactly. For some people, she ain't hard enough to other people. She too hard. And this is not me. Y'all don't say people that's familiar with me and my politics. Y'all know this is not me like capping and being like, oh, my God, Vice President Kamala Harris can't fit. It's really just thinking about the different complex position that black people are put in, especially when you give empower and how you trying to.

Make people feel good and please everybody while always already knowing there's going to be certain people that's looking to prove how you can't please them.

Hiram is not really the rooting for everybody black type. He's down for desegregation, but he isn't really a fan of integration. And he wants universal amnesty for former Confederates. Meanwhile, the radical Republicans want the Confederates to be punished for their crimes. Sometimes, Hiram goes a bridge too far in the colonizer territory. He votes for the annexation of the Dominican Republic. Homeboy actually says...

It's the duty of our powerful, wealthy, and Christian nation to extend intellectual, moral, and religious elevation to the inhabitants of that republic. Damn, man. Turning Christian values into weapons.

seen that happen before. But Hiram doesn't completely abandon black people. He writes a letter of recommendation for a black man trying to get into West Point Military Academy, an institution full of white supremacists. Hiram helps a group of black mechanics get jobs in the U.S. Navy Yard. He's convinced God ain't gonna bless the nation if the white folks keep up the racist vibes.

White folks aren't gonna let Hiram get away unscathed. Senators oppose his appeals for desegregation and Black social advancement. His haters attack his character and say he's misappropriated church funds. Democrat reporters are trying to bring a brother down, but Hiram's still walking with faith. Hiram only spends a year in office.

When his time in the Senate comes to a close on March 3rd, 1871, things have cooled off a bit. One newspaper calls him a champion of natural progress and advanced civilization. And his supporters are sad to see him go, even if lots of his efforts as a senator fail. The black cadet Hiram recommended to West Point, he was refused entrance into the academy.

Hiram's legislative impact is sort of weak, but he isn't worried about being the loudest, most powerful senator. Hiram's votes and speeches show his Christ-like devotion to loving and protecting all God's children. He's done his duty. Republican Ulysses Grant is the United States president now. He wants to keep Hiram around, but Mississippi's calling him home. Hiram leaves Washington

But he's opened a door for Black politicians that can't be easily closed. Hiram's satisfied. I did all I could for the benefit of my needy and much-imposed-upon people. Hiram's making a quick exit out of national politics, fading into the shadows like a one-hit wonder who got their bag and dipped out. And his timing's on point. Reconstruction got an expiration date.

But Blanche Bruce ain't afraid to join the political system that's about to crash and burn. He's taking more municipal jobs. His power grows, and Mississippi Governor James Alcorn is a fan of Blanche. Blanche becomes the county superintendent, education approved. The Republican Party can't agree on how to deal with the South during Reconstruction.

They split into two factions, moderates and radicals. Blanche falls on the radical side. The radicals are straight up about supporting Black civil rights. He organizes to get newly freed Black folks to vote. All those Black votes from freedmen are helping white Republicans win. And Blanche is about to benefit from Republican exploitation. Tensions are high in Mississippi. The Ku Klux Klan's on the rise. Racists are set on destroying Black folks' lives and newfound power.

Some Democrats are hanging on to the racism of the old South. Blanche is ready to climb the political ladder. He wants a spot in the U.S. Senate. If Senator Alderbert Ames wins the race for Mississippi governor, then a U.S. Senate seat will be open. Blanche could support his old friend James Alcorn. He's Alderbert's Republican opponent. But Blanche put his support in Alderbert, a decision he'll regret.

Adelbert wins and he backs Blanche as the nominee for a full six-year term in the Senate. It's an endorsement that's worth its weight in gold. The Mississippi State House is dominated by Black Republicans. In February 1874, most of the Mississippi legislature elects Blanche to the U.S. Senate. His term starts in just over a year after Senator Henry Pease finishes a partial term.

Blanche might accomplish what Hiram revels couldn't, becoming the first Black person to serve a full term in the Senate. Republicans call him a man of moderation and integrity, but a huge shift's changing everything. Black is beautiful.

It's March 5th, 1875, more than a year after Blanche is elected. Blanche is sitting in the Senate chamber, waiting to take his oath of office. Light streams in through the ceiling windows and warms the top of his head. He's one of 23 senators being sworn in today, all of them white.

Mississippi's senior senator, James Alcorn, is supposed to walk up to the presiding officer's desk with Blanche. But James has other plans. He hasn't forgotten Blanche refusing to support him in the Mississippi governor's race. James twirls his mustache around his finger and picks up a newspaper. Blanche watches him with groin alarm. The salty senior senator is kicking back the paper like it's Saturday morning.

James speaks without taking his eyes off the page. I won't be escorting him. Blanche shudders. He's thinking of Hiram Rebels, the only other black man who's been in this position. It was drama right from the jump, with Hiram swearing in too. Hiram made it through, but the country's in a different place now. Racists are tired of black folks winning.

Hiram can put up with three days of debate over his credentials. Blanche should have no problem dealing with a petty senator. Blanche lifts his chin and raises his voice. Senator Alcorn, I believe it's your duty to escort me to the front. I will do no such thing. Blanche begins walking down the Senate aisle all alone. His swearing in is supposed to be a source of pride, but it's quickly turning into a moment of embarrassment. Blanche swallows and adjusts his coat.

Just as Blanche starts thinking nobody has his back, he feels a warm hand on his shoulder. Republican Senator Roscoe Conkling from New York is by his side. Roscoe glances at James. James puts down the paper and is now staring at Roscoe and Blanche. Blanche nervously tugs at the chain of his pocket watch. He's used to moving forward when it seems like the whole world is against him.

And he's going to do the same now. Hiram made it a year in the Senate. Now Blanche has six years and he's going to make the most of them. He puts his hand on the vice president's Bible, ready to take the oath. In Congress, Blanche is passionate about calling out Democrats' misdeeds. Democrats in Mississippi are stuffing ballots to discourage Black folks from voting.

White supremacists are beating people at the polls and starting riots. Hate groups are dreaming up ways to push more Black folks out of office. Blanche's mentor, Mississippi Governor Albert Ames, struggles to stop the terrorist groups. Blanche wants to do whatever's in his power to give Black folks a shot at the education and wealth that white folks have. Blanche supports the creation of a Bowtwell Senate Committee.

It'll look into the abuses during the 1875 Mississippi elections. And the committee interviews someone Blanche wouldn't be in a Senate without. The committee travels all over Mississippi, gathering info and interviewing witnesses. Terrified survivors take the stand. Margaret Ann Caldwell's husband, Charles Caldwell, was a Mississippi state senator. On June 20th, she takes the stand.

The brutal testimonies go on for days.

On June 22nd, Hiram takes the stand for questions. His testimony is shocking. Mr. Revels, did you see violence during the 1875 elections? I did not. Things were quiet and pleasant at most places. You didn't see anything? No intimidation? No fraud? I don't know what more I can say. Election Day was just an ordinary day.

It looks like Hiram's on the Democrats' side. Many Black folks see it as Hiram siding with the racist enemy. Hiram claims he prays against the success of the Democratic Party.

And just for the people that's listening right now, listen, man, this right here is one of the reasons why so many black people have a lot of political distrust. It's because even when we've had black faces in high spaces, they've still figured out a way to side with the individuals that's always had a pattern that leads to our death or leads to our freedom being taken away. So just when we think about how a lot of black folks be like, man, I don't know about that political stuff and or forget those politicians over there, even the black ones.

This right here showing you that our entry point into politics was always already very tricky. It might have just been personal payback against its political rival, Mississippi Governor Adelbert Ames. Hiram was president of Alcorn University before the governor threw him out. Any way you spin it, Hiram sided with the party that incited violence against black people. His path to serving God might have led him astray.

Now that Blanche has gotten cozy in the Senate, he plays both sides too. Republican President Rutherford Hayes was elected in 1877, but he's trying to mend fences. He agreed to remove federal troops from the South and end Reconstruction. Black politicians' jobs are on the chopping block. By 1879, Blanche is the only Black person left in both houses.

Blanche stands up against a bill restricting Chinese immigration in the U.S., but he's silent on the exodus of Black farm workers out of the South. Until migrants start dying, and he asks the Senate to send aid. The Democrats are running the show during Blanche's final years in the Senate.

He's free to fight for what he really believes. Blanche supports the bill to give financial aid to families of Black Civil War veterans. He also tries to help thousands of families who lose money when the Freedmen, Savings and Trust Company collapse.

He fails to pass a bill that gets them their cash back, but he does arrange the sale of the bank's main building, which gets the account holder some money. Some folks think Blanche is pro-Black when it helps him. Then he's quick to bow down to white folks and turn on Black folks when it's convenient. It ain't too far-fetched. It sounds like American politics.

Blanche's Senate term ends in March of 1881. Former Confederate and enslaver James George takes Blanche's seat. Blanche wants to stand politics and keep rubbing shoulders with the Black elite in D.C. He keeps his home in Washington, but his political fortunes change for the worse, along with his health. Blanche gets a job as Register of the Treasury under President James Garfield, but it's looking like he forgot where he came from.

Blanche hires very few Black folks for his staff. And when Democratic President Grover Cleveland is elected, Blanche supports him, even though Cleveland's a racist and will likely fire him. Turning your back on your people for a little more clout? Tragic, man. Blanche even says white folks and Southern Democrats didn't try to intimidate and harm Black folks at the polls. Sounds familiar. Did Blanche learn from Hiram?

Or was there some sort of handbook on scheming what they both read? Regardless, Black's reputation is crumbling with Black folks and his class status stays intact. He sends his son to a fancy academy. He got assets worth about $150,000 or around $5 million in today's money.

In March of 1898, Blanche is doubled over with stomach pains. His wife, Josephine, thinks it's indigestion. But a doctor says something's wrong with his kidneys. It could be life-threatening. Josephine tells newspapers that Blanche is seriously sick. It's a fast decline and takes both of them by surprise. On March 17th, Blanche dies from kidney complications related to diabetes. He's only 57.

Hiram outlives Blanche. He's back to old faithful, preaching at his former church in Holly Springs.

He also teaches theology at Shaw University. God's always there, even at the end of his life. On January 16, 1901, Hiram dies of a stroke at a religious conference. We can try and give the ancestors little grace. They was navigating slavery, secession, new governments, and mild violence. Who knows what would have happened if they would have moved differently? But it's black history for real.

- Hiram and Blanche had brief times in the spotlight during a supercharged era in American history. It takes nearly a century and the upheaval of the civil rights movement to put another black Senator in Congress. But when we got out of it, the people were not playing. They elected the first black woman and black modern Republican to the Senate.

If you like Black History for Real, you can listen early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey.

This is episode one of our three-part series, Black Senators. We use multiple sources when researching our stories, but the gentleman from Mississippi, our first Negro congressman, the senator and the socialite, and the congressional records were extremely helpful. A note, our scenes contain reenactments and dramatized details for narrative cohesiveness. Black History for Real is hosted by me, Virginia.

for Jessica Ramsey. And me, Conscious Lee. Black History for Real is a production of Wondering. The episode was written by Eve Shefco. Sound design by Ken Nana. Designed by

The theme song is by Terrace Martin. Lindsey Gomez is the development producer. The coordinating producer is Taylor Sniffin. Nick Ryan is our senior managing producer. Our associate producer is Sonya May. Matt Gant and Morgan Givens are the senior producers. The executive producers for Wondery are Marshall Louis, Aaron O'Flaherty, and Candace Mariquez-Wren. Wondery.