This day in black history: first black governor of U.S. State sworn in

On December 11, 1872, Pinckney Pinchback  became  the first African-American governor of a U.S. state when he was  sworn in as governor of Louisiana.

Born in Macon, Georgia, on May 10, 1837, the son of a former slave, Pinckney Pinchback fought in the Civil War and was one of the Union Army’s few commissioned officers of African-American ancestry. He became a commander, but resigned in 1863 due to racial tensions.