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December 14, 2025

Dec. 14: On this day in 1829, John Mercer Langston, the first African-American to hold U.S. political office, was born in Louisa County, Va. A Black abolitionist, attorney, educator, activist, diplomat and politician, he helped create the Howard University law school and was its first dean. He was the first president of what is now Virginia State University, a historically black college. Langston served in the U.S. House of Representatives during the 51st Congress (1889–1891).

The Summer/Fall 2025 edition of
The Virginia Defender is online
and on the streets!
Read it HERE!