McClellan wants Petersburg post office named for congressman, first VSU president

Bill Atkinson, Petersburg Progress-Index
·2 min read
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PETERSBURG – If Rep. Jennifer McClellan has her way, the downtown Petersburg post office will be named in memory of the first Black person to serve Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives.

McClellan, D-4th, said Friday she will introduce House Resolution 7385 Monday to put John Mercer Langston’s name on the 89-year-old building at 29 Franklin St. She will announce the resolution at a 10 a.m. ceremony Monday at Virginia State University’s Langston Hall.

John Mercer Langston
John Mercer Langston

A statement from her office said McClellan – the first Black woman to represent Virginia in Congress – “is proud to honor John Mercer Langston, Virginia's first Black congressman and the first president of VSU, by renaming this Petersburg postal office.”

Langston, a Louisa County native, was a 19th century attorney, abolitionist, educator and politician who founded the law school at Howard University in Washington. While serving as the first president of Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute [now VSU] in 1885, Langston began to build his political career at the college that culminated in becoming the first Black person to go to Congress from Virginia.

When he left Congress in 1891, there would not be another Black congressman from the commonwealth until 2016 when former state Sen. Donald McEachin of Richmond was elected. Both Langston and McEachin represented the 4th District which encompasses the Tri-City area.

McEachin died in 2022, and McClellan – a Petersburg native and state legislator from Richmond – was elected to replace him.

Should the resolution be approved, it would be the second post-office building in the area to bear a person’s name. In 2021, McEachin was successful in having the post office in downtown Hopewell named after Dr. Curtis W. Harris, a former Hopewell city councilor and mayor, and a person instrumental in the area’s civil-rights movement. Harris, who worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., helped set up the Virginia chapter of King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

The brick building in downtown Petersburg is known for its circular architecture. It was built in 1935 as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal program.

It also is noted for its two murals on the walls at opposite ends of the building.

Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Congress asked to rename Petersburg post office for first VSU chief