Henry McNeal Turner and black legislatures

Black men participated in Georgia politics for the first time during the Congressional Reconstruction from 1867 to 1876. Between 1867 and 1872, sixty-nine African Americans served as delegates to the constitutional convention (1867-68) or as members of the state legislature. One of the three most prominent black legislators was Henry McNeal Turner.

Turner was the most successful black politician in organizing the black Republican vote and attracted other ministers into politics. He was a delegate to the Georgia constitutional convention of 1867 and was elected to two terms in the Georgia legislature, beginning in 1868. 

In September 1868,  the legislature, dominated by Republicans, expelled their African American members. Energized, the black legislators, led by Turner, continued to concentrate on political and civil rights. For many of them,education had been their highest priority since 1865. With their solid support, Georgia adopted public education.