The Joseph Rainey Center for Public Policy is a public policy research organization and leadership community of elected officials across the nation cultivating new ideas and new leadership to address America’s most pressing challenges. We work across political divides, on difficult issues, towards a bright future of opportunity for all Americans. We are inspired to work for freedom, equality, and a more perfect union by our namesake, Congressman Joseph Hayne Rainey of South Carolina. Rep. Rainey was born enslaved in 1832. He was the first Black man to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, the first to preside over the House, and the longest-serving Black lawmaker during Reconstruction. To learn more, visit www.raineycenter.org.