Historic First: Alabama To Have Two Black U.S. House Members Serving Together

Reps. Terri Sewell and Shomari Figures are the first Black concurrent representatives in Alabama's history.

Alabama is sending two Black representatives to the House of Representatives simultaneously for the first time in history.

According to the Alabama Reflector, that is a feat that was not even achieved during Reconstruction, an era following the Civil War when Black political power in the South was expanded as the United States tried to fold newly emancipated former slaves in the former Confederacy into full participation as American citizens.

Shomari Figures will represent Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District after he won the seat in the November 2024 election.

This was made possible by court-ordered redistricting, which allowed the district’s Black citizens to choose their representatives.

Figures released a statement on Nov. 8, declaring his understanding of the significance of the case that allowed him and Rep. Terri Sewell to both represent Alabama at the same time in the House.

“The opportunity for fair representation is an essential element of democracy, as it affords people from different backgrounds an opportunity to make sure their voices are heard and interests represented,” Figures said.

Rep. Sewell, who represents Alabama’s 7th Congressional District, said that the results of their respective races reflect the power of “having people in office who will fight for the issues that matter to us and the values we share.”

She continued, “Too many Black voters in Alabama have had their power diluted by unfair Congressional maps. By sending Shomari Figures to Washington, those voters finally get the chance to claim their seat at the decision-making table. I look forward to having him as a partner in Congress and working on behalf of all Alabamians, especially those whose voices have yet to be fully heard.”

During Reconstruction, when the state’s population was markedly different from today’s, Alabama sent three Black men to the House of Representatives, but neither of their terms overlapped.

Today, Alabama’s population is approximately 64% white and 27% Black, and voter suppression, as it did shortly after the last of the three men, Rep. Jeremiah Haralson, left office in 1877, shapes the political representation of Black folks in Alabama.

It was not until 1992, over a century after Haralson left office, that Alabama would send its next Black representative to Congress, Earl Hilliard, who represented Alabama’s majority-Black 7th District.

For decades, the 7th District has been Alabama’s only opportunity district, but after a federal court ruled that Alabama had to redraw the 2nd Congressional District, it became the state’s second opportunity district.

That case, Allen v. Milligan, is still pending. Evan Milligan, the lead plaintiff in the case, told the outlet that he is still unsure that the lawsuit can result in more representation for Black Alabamians.

“At no point was it a foregone conclusion. I’ll say that, and it’s still not, because this is an active case. The only reason the law needs to point to it is because of the decades of resistance that the state of Alabama has had to uniform enforcement of civil rights protections and voting rights protections at every branch and every step of the democratic process,” Milligan said.

He continued, “I think in every generation there’s an opportunity for us to hold our state and to hold our nation to the values that are written down in our Constitution, because freedom and fairness and justice, those are action words.”

Bernard Simelton, president of the Alabama State Conference NAACP, is also a plaintiff in the lawsuit and shares Milligan’s concerns but is hopeful the court will uphold the results of the lawsuit.

“I think the courts cannot help but see that the way the state of Alabama had this, had gerrymandered the district and that they will rule in favor of the keeping that district the way it is,” Simelton told the Reflector.

He continued, “It showed that again, when Blacks get an opportunity to elect and show up to the polls, they will do and elect the person that they want to represent them.”