Jefferson Franklin Long

Born: March 3, 1836 in Knoxville, Georgia 

Died: February 4, 1901 in Macon, Georgia

United States Representative, 1870–1879

Republican from South Carolina

• Jefferson Franklin Long was the second African American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and the first African American to represent Georgia. 
• Long only served 3 months, but on February 1, 1871, he became the first African American Representative to speak before the House. Speaking against the Amnesty Bill, which restored political rights to former Confederates, Long pleaded with his colleagues to acknowledge the atrocities being committed by white supremacists in Georgia. 
• Born a slave and self-educated, Long owned a prosperous tailor shop in Macon, Ga and was an active member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) headed by Henry McNeal Turner, an influential African American leader in late-19th-century Georgia. 
• After leaving Congress on March 3, 1871, Long returned to his tailor shop and other businesses in Macon,  which suffered because of his reputation among whites as a radical politician. In spite of these challenges, he continued to support causes to empower Black people in the state.
• Long died in Macon on February 4, 1901 at the age of 64. 
• Long remained the only African American to represent Georgia in the House of Representatives until the election of Andrew Young in 1972.

 U.S. Congressman. Born a slave, he was self-educated and became a merchant tailor in Macon, Georgia. On January 16, 1871, he was elected as a Republican to the Forty-first Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the House declaring Samuel F. Gove, serving until March 3, 1871. He was the second African American to be sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives and the first African American to represent Georgia. Despite his brief time in Congress, he was able to promote several reconstruction efforts. Not a candidate for re-nomination, he resumed his merchant business until his and death.