SOME NEGRO MEMBERS OF RECONSTRUCTION CONVENTIONS AND LEGISLATURES AND OF CONGRESS [1]
No systematic effort has hitherto been made to save the records of the Negro during the Reconstruction period. American public opinion has been so prejudiced against the Negroes because of their elevation to prominence in southern politics that it has been considered sufficient to destroy their régime and forget it. As future historians will seek for facts beyond those compiled by biased investigators now writing monographs in this field, a few persons realizing the importance of preserving the records in which the actual facts are set forth, are now directing the attention of the country to this neglected aspect of our history. These lists of suggestive names of the men who figured conspicuously in this recent drama will be decidedly useful in the collection of facts adequate to the presentation of both sides of the question. These lists are far from being complete. This is but a step in the right direction and persons in possession of such facts are earnestly urged to coöperate in collecting them.
It has been extremely difficult to determine the race of the members of the various Reconstruction bodies. The lists of members as published in the Journals of the legislatures do not indicate the race. This has to be determined by contemporary information. The methods used by other persons and agencies in identifying the race have been various. The Negro members of the North Carolina General Assembly, for example, were indicated by the figure 37 in the State Manual listing all persons who had been in the Assembly. Where no such information could be obtained from printed matter, it has been necessary to rely upon information obtained from individuals who participated in the Reconstruction.
Negro Members of the Alabama Constitutional Convention, 1867[2]
| District | Name | County |
| 1st | John Carraway | Mobile |
| Ovide Gregory | Mobile | |
| 6th | Thomas Diggs | Barbour |
| 7th | B. F. Royal | Bullock |
| 13th | Washington Johnson | Russell |
| 15th | Peyton Finley | Montgomery |
| 16th | H. Stokes | Dallas |
| J. Hatcher | Dallas | |
| 17th | J. Wright McLeod | Marengo |
| 18th | Benjamin Inge | Sumter |
| 19th | Samuel Blanden | Lee |
| 21st | Thomas Lee | Perry |
| 22nd | J. K. Greene | Hale |
| B. F. Alexander | Greene | |
| 42nd | Lafayette Robinson | Madison |
| C. Jones | Madison | |
| 43rd | J. T. Rapier | Lauderdale |
Negro Members of the Alabama Constitutional Convention, 1875[2]
| District | Name | County |
| H. A. Carson | Lowndes | |
| 25th | A. H. Curtis | Perry |
| 21st | G. S. W. Lewis | Perry |
Senate[3]