The resounding victory of the Democrats and the utter repudiation of Donald Trump’s Republican party in last week’s midterms was already historic. But Scott Colom’s election as the new U.S. Senator from Mississippi—finally confirmed on Wednesday night—has seriously escalated the notion of “historic.”
Colom is the first Black man in Mississippi to ever win statewide elective office and he’s the first to become a U.S. Senator there since Reconstruction. The last time was 145 years ago in 1881 when Blanche Bruce, who was born into slavery in Virginia, completed his six-year term. He followed Hiram Revels, an ordained minister who was the first Black man to ever hold a seat in the U.S. Senate, serving for just over a year to complete a term that expired in 1871.
Both men were Republicans, members of the party which in those days advocated for civil and political rights for emancipated African Americans. Both were elected by the Mississippi state legislature rather than the general population.
As Revels would recall, Black legislators thought his election would be “a weakening blow against color line prejudice.” The white supremacist Democratic minority, meanhile, cynically endorsed Revels’ election believing that a Black Senator would “seriously damage the Republican Party.” (These Democrats were still pining for their previous senator, Jefferson Davis, who left Mississippi to become the President of the Confederacy.)
Revels took his oath of office on Feb. 25, 1870. Mississippi had just been readmitted to the Union two days earlier on Feb. 23 and the 15th Amendment had just been ratified by the states three weeks earlier on Feb. 3.
As you’ll recall, the 15th amendment’s text states: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” The 14th Amendment—defining citizens as “all persons born or naturalized in the United States” with the right of equal protection under the law—had been passed in 1868.
These post-Civil War acts of Reconstruction made it possible for a previous deep South slave state like Mississippi, which had more Black than white people in 1870, to advance in that moment. Yet soon began a century-long era of racist Jim Crow laws and violence, brutally rejecting the promise of emancipation and the responsibility to build a society based on equality.
Fast forward 145 years from Sen. Blanche Bruce to Senator-Elect Scott Colom, the 43-year-old district attorney who defeated Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith. One of the last remaining races to be called, his margin of victory is now some 4,600 votes. His win ensures that the Democrats will seat at least 55 senators (the final tally for Mary Peltola in Alaska is still underway).
At his victory celebration, Colon described the difficulty of what he had achieved. “There were times that I couldn’t get donors to answer the phone,” Colom said. “They did not believe a moment like this was possible. But I kept the faith…There were times when I was tired, and I felt like I couldn’t keep going, but I kept the faith, and that is another tradition of our state.”
In a state that has long suffered from vicious, self-defeating segregation and violent racial oppression—a state that has had more lynchings than any other—the people of Mississippi stood up and demanded change. Scott Colom’s victory is a historic moment to savor.
Let’s savor another moment: when the newly elected, fresh-faced Democratic senators came to Washington for their first day of orientation. The photograph below speaks more than a thousand words.
There is the Texas Democrat, James Talarico, the first in more than three decades. There is the Michigan Democrat, Abdul El-Sayed, the first Muslim American ever elected to the Senate. There is the Minnesota Democrat, Peggy Flanagan, the first Native American ever elected to the Senate. There is the New Hampshire Democrat, Chris Pappas, the first openly gay man elected to the Senate. There is the Kansas Democrat, Adam Hamilton, the first in nearly a century.
As the BBC noted last week, “The last time a Kansas Democrat was in the Senate, Judy Garland was filming The Wizard of Oz.” Somewhere over the rainbow, indeed.
And then there’s the guy who tragically still occupies our White House. Were we dealing with a sane man who believed in democracy and his actual duty to serve the people, he would respond to his historic loss by sharing what he had learned from from the will of the voters.
Instead, this depleted and sad individual was back to his pathetic pattern of claiming election fraud. Worse, he has installed the vile and deeply despised bigot Stephen Miller as his new chief of staff and spewed out a new round of unhinged and desperate nonsense on his Truth Social platform.
To wit: The real “massive corruption and crime” is being committed by Democratic-led blue states; “huge CARAVANS are forming and beginning their illegal march through Mexico” (remember that one?); the party that just won are “anti-American Dumocrats” and communists and “corrupt and evil”; whining again that Sen. Mark Kelly and the other members of the “seditious six” have not been prosecuted (for expressing their 1st Amendment rights); complaining once again about Democrats pursuing his tax returns.
You get the idea. Nothing learned. Same old, same old. Just historically dumb.
Meanwhile, Todd Blanche, Trump’s personal defense attorney installed at the head of our Justice Department, and White House counsel Will Scharf have been threatening Robert Garcia and the House Oversight committee that Garcia will lead in the new Congress over his plans to pursue hearings and investigations concerning corruption and criminality. As if it’s not the constitutional responsibility of Congress to do so.
The attacks are empty and desperate, as are Trump’s efforts to demean and abuse anyone who’s not bowing down to him. They all represent a doubling down by a weakened regime, which I find uplifting because it only ensures its ultimate failure as the new Democratic majority pursues accountability and actual governance.
Let’s give Rep. Garcia the final word here. “The Trump administration continues to weaponize the government with threats of unconstitutional attacks on Congress,” he said in a statement. “We are a coequal branch of government and will not be deterred by baseless threats from a weaponized D.O.J. or from the president’s lawyers.”
Well, one more word: We are living in historic times. It’s exciting, even promising, to be here, especially now that the best of the American people has revealed itself. The work continues for all of us to keep the momentum going.
We cannot let up in the pursuit of a more perfect union. I remain committed to raising my voice as vividly and fiercely as I can. I hope you’ll consider becoming a paid subscriber for just $50 a year or $5 a month to show your support and enhance your engagement—to share your thoughts in the comments sections and access all content.