Do you know who John Mercer Langston was? John was a very important politician and lawyer. He stood up for the voices of people who were silenced.

But let’s start from the beginning. Somewhere in Virginia in December 14, 1829, John was born to a white slaveowner and a freed black slave. Since his mom was freed, John was born a free black man.

Sadly, both of his parents died when he was very young. When that happened, Langston and his sister moved to their dad’s friend’s house in Ohio.

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When he was older, he went to Oberlin College.

When John was in Ohio, he heard a lot of people talking about abolition, or getting rid of slavery.

Oberlin College was famous for its abolitionist beliefs and for letting black and white students go to school together.

In most American colleges, black and white students had to go to school separately, but Oberlin College believed that was wrong.

 Because John wasn’t allowed into the law schools, he studied with abolitionists until he was able to be a lawyer.

John graduated from Oberlin College in 1852. He wanted to become a lawyer, but in the 1850s, it was very rare for law schools to allow black people to attend to learn how to become a lawyer.

Two years later, he married a woman named Caroline Wall. She also went to Oberlin College and was an abolitionist.

They raised five children together. Their names were Arthur, Ralph, Chinque, Nettie, and Frank.