Edward Shaw

In 1870, Edward Shaw became the first Memphis black to run for U.S. Congress. Though he did not win, he was active in politics, serving on the County Commission, the City Council, and as Wharf master in the 1870s. In 1875, Shaw was editor of a black newspaper, The Memphis Planet, and, in 1880, he escorted General U.S. Grant, who was in Memphis to visit Beale Street Baptist Church and LeMoyne-Normal Institute.