March 31, 1870
One day after the ratification of the 15th Amendment, Thomas Mundy Peterson of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, became the first Black American to vote in an election under that amendment.
Peterson served as a school principal and later became the city’s first Black officeholder and the first Black person to ever serve on a jury. To honor him as the first Black voter after passage of the 15th Amendment, the community raised enough money to award him a gold medallion that featured Abraham Lincoln — a medallion now housed at Xavier University in New Orleans.
In 1989, the school where he worked was renamed after him. In New Jersey, March 31 is recognized as Thomas Mundy Peterson Day, honoring his historic vote.
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