Henry McNeal Turner and black legislators

During the Reconstruction Period black legislators were for the first time allowed to be part of the government. Between 1867 and 1872, sixty nine black Georgia delegates served for the state legislature. One of the most prominent figures during this time was Henry McNeal Turner. Turner came from Washington D.C. to win black congregations from the African Methodist Episcopal Church. He was a strong Republican and was a prominent black leader who had brilliant ideas. He was born in 1834 in South Carolina but was never a slave. He managed to get an education and became a minister during his early years. Once he realized of the Reconstruction Plans, he decided to switch careers into the political field. He helped organize Georgia's Republican Party, served in the Constitutional Convention, and was in the House of Representatives, representing Macon. In 1869, Turner was appointed postmaster by the Republican Administration. He was upset about the unfairness blacks faced in the south form Democrats, he was actually part of a little skirmish between the Democrats. Henry was a part of the Georgia General Assembly, part he and other black legislators were removed by radical Democrats. The Democrats excuse was that the right to vote did not mean that blacks could hold any sort of office. The Federal Government, and eventually the black legislatures did return to their seats. It was just another sign that tension had not sizzled since the war. 

Sources 
Information: Notes and http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-632 
Photos: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/Henry_McNeil_Turner.jpg/220px-Henry_McNeil_Turner.jpg