John Mercer Langston

John Mercer Langston is an Ohio historical marker in Lorain County.

Lorain County · 1940 N. Ridge Road, Vermilion, OH, 44089 -- Brownhelm Elementary School

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Side A: The first African-American elected to government office in the United States, John Mercer Langston (1829-1897) won the office of Clerk of Brownhelm Township on April 2, 1855. Born in Virginia and raised in Chillicothe, Langston graduated from Oberlin College in 1849 and was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 1854, becoming Ohio’s first black attorney. He served as the first president of the National Equal Rights League in 1864, and subsequently as professor of law, dean, and acting president of Howard University in Washington, D.C. In 1890, he became Virginia’s first black congressman. Throughout his career Langston set a personal example of self-reliance in the struggle for justice for African-Americans. Side B: Same

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under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

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Marker data: Ohio Historical Markers program, Ohio History Connection (Remarkable Ohio)

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Brownhelm Historic District140 ft

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