Hiram Rhodes Revels (1827 – 1901)

Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Natchez, Mississippi,
was sworn into the U.S. Senate, becoming the first African
American ever to sit in Congress.

During the Civil War, Revels, a college-educated minister,
helped form African American army regiments for the Union
cause, started a school for freed men, and served as a
chaplain for the Union army.

Posted to Mississippi, Revels remained in the former
Confederate state after the war and entered into
Reconstruction-era Southern politics.

The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson’s controversial film
about the last 44 hours of Jesus of Nazareth’s life, opened
in theaters across the United States on February 25, 2004.

Patrons stand in line for tickets for a morning showing of
"The Passion of the Christ," at Regal Cinemas in Buford, Georgia, February 25, 2004.