John Malveaux: Biography.com: "In 1865, [Henry] Garnet became the first black speaker to preach a sermon in the House of Representatives."

Henry Highland Garnet

John Malveaux of

www.MusicUNTOLD.com

writes:

150th anniversary of first African American, Henry Highland Garnet, who was invited by President Lincoln to preach a sermon in the House of Representatives.  

See:

http://www.biography.com/people/henry-highland-garnet-39704

John Malveaux

www.musicuntold.com

Minister, Activist (c. 1815–c. 1882)

Henry Highland Garnet was an African-American best known as an abolitionist whose "Call to Rebellion" speech in 1843 encouraged slaves to rebel against their owners.

Synopsis

Henry Highland Garnet was an African-American abolitionist born circa December 23, 1815, in Kent County, Maryland. Born as a slave, Garnet and his family escaped to New York when he was about 9 years old. In the 1840s, he became an abolitionist. His "Call to Rebellion" speech in 1843 encouraged slaves to free themselves by rising up against owners. Seen as a radical, he became a controversial figure within the abolitionist movement. In 1865, Garnet became the first black speaker to preach a sermon in the House of Representatives. He worked in a government post in Liberia in 1881 and died there a few months later, on February 13, 1882.