Week of October 21: Albemarle County elects an African-American man for the first time

After the Civil War, southern states were required to re-write their state constitutions before being admitted back to the union. Virginia counties held elections for representatives to send to the state constitutional convention. It was the first election in which African-American men in Virginia could vote, and Albemarle County voters chose an African-American man named James Taylor as one of its delegates.