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hendersondispatch.com · Natchez, MS

Scott Colom makes history in Mississippi. Two other Black men did the same 150 years before him

This photo combo shows from left, Hiram Revels and Blanche Kelso Bruce. Library of Congress via AP When Scott Colom takes the oath of office for the U.S. Senate in January, he will not be the first Black senator from Mississippi to make history. But he will be the first in nearly 150 years and the first chosen by voters rather than state lawmakers.Colom, a Democrat, was declared the winner Wednesday over Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. His victory marked a major shift in a state with the nation’s largest proportional share of Black people but where white conservatives have largely held political power for decades.“There have been a lot of elections wherein Black folks didn’t really seem like they had a chance. If you look at the demographics of Mississippi, it’s one of those places where, demographically, it shouldn’t be that way. It’s a large Black population,” said Justin Hansford, director of the Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center at Howard University.