Before Scott Colom, these two men were the last black US senators in Mississippi
A BBC article profiles Hiram Revels and Blanche Bruce, the two black US senators Mississippi chose before Scott Colom, who after a close race will become the state's first black senator in more than 150 years and the third in its history. Revels, the first black person to serve in the Senate, sat from 1870 to 1871, and Blanche Bruce, born into slavery, served a full term from 1875 to 1881; in his victory speech Colom referenced how Revels won support through his words, calling it an example of the power of prayer.
