The mysterious Governor Pinchback

Now that the USA has its first black President, I read a newspaper article about the first black X in the US, where X is senator, astronaut, or golf champion. Among the list was the first black governor, a certain Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback. Pinchback's governorship is intriguing for a number of reasons:

  • He was governor in 1872, a mere 7 years after slavery was abolished.
  • He was governor for only 35 days, but he was not forcibly removed from office.
  • He was governor of Louisiana, a state not known for its tolerant stance on minorities (present-day example).
  • He was a Republican.
  • He was captain of an all-black regiment of the Union Army in the Civil War.
  • He doesn't exactly look black (judging from this picture).

Can anyone tell me a bit more about this fascinating character? Wikipedia is pretty sketchy.

Posted by zeptimius at 10:01 AM, November 06, 2008