"During the Civil War, he helped organize Maryland's first two black regiments for the U.S. Army. In February 1870, he was elected from Mississippi to the United States Senate seat formerly held by Jefferson Davis," Mrs. Jackson-Lee says.

Hiram Rhodes Revels was in an extraordinary position; not only was he the first African American in Congress only a few years after the Civil War had ended, but he was representing a state where black men had only been in positions of servitude."

Revels' seat did not come without controversy, she notes, and "a great debate arose in the Senate as to whether a man of color was entitled" to serve in Congress.

The argument was closed with a quote from former Republican Sen. Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, who declared: "All men are created equal, says the great Declaration [of Independence], and now a great act attests to this verity. Today we make the Declaration a reality."

Parents first

The Washington law firm Skadden, Arps will provide legal advice, pro bono, to the Virginia Tech Review Panel investigating the April 16 massacre on the Blacksburg campus.

The panel, established by Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine and including former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, is charged with providing an objective analysis of the circumstances of the tragedy and make appropriate recommendations for the future.

"As citizens, and especially as parents, we are pleased that we are able to assist the panel with this very important inquiry," says Michael Rogan, head of Skadden's Washington office.