James T. Rapier

Who was James T. Rapier?

James Thomas Rapier was an attorney, a planter and a politician; he served as a United States Representative from 1873 until 1875. Born free, he was educated in Canada and admitted to the bar. He became a national figure in the Republican Party after the Civil War and was one of Alabama's three blacks elected as congressmen during Reconstruction. He was one of seven blacks serving in the 43rd Congress. They each testified in 1874 for passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 which guaranteed access to accommodations.