Ex-slaves helped shape Virginia after Civil War

Virginia’s legislature got a lot of attention this year for its historically diverse crop of lawmakers, including the most women ever to serve, the first Latinas and the first transgender delegate. But while the number of African-Americans in the House of Delegates was the highest in many lifetimes, it wasn’t the highest ever, the Washington Post reports. There was another time -- 150 years ago -- when African Americans were fully represented -and had an equal hand in shaping state government. • Article