John Langston

John Langston was the first African-American public official, elected in 1855 as a township clerk in Ohio.  He later worked for the Freedmen’s Bureau to assist emancipated slaves.  Langston helped establish Howard University Law School and the National Equal Rights League.

In 1870, he delivered an influential speech praising the civil rights policies of Republican President Ulysses Grant.  Langston later served in Republican administrations as a diplomat in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

John Langston was a delegate to the 1876 Republican National Convention.  In 1890, he won election to a term in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing parts of Virginia.

Langston Hughes, the literary giant, was named after his great-uncle, John Langston.