Hiram Revels served as pastor of the African Methodist Church at the corner of 7th and Washington Streets in St. Louis in 1853.
While in St. Louis, he taught blacks to read even though--at the time--it was against the law.
Revels later moved to Mississippi where, on January 20, 1870, the state legislature selected him to represent the state as a U.S. Senator.
At that moment, Rev. Hiram Revels, the former St. Louis preacher, became the first African-American to serve in Congress.
