David Foote Rivers (July 18, 1859 – July 5, 1941) was a theologian and politician in the United States. An African American and a
Republican, he served as a member of the
Tennessee House of Representatives
The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee.
Constitutional requirements
According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...
for
Fayette County from 1883 to 1884.
He represented
Fayette County.
He taught at his alma mater,
Roger Williams University, in
Nashville, Tennessee.
His eligibility for office was contested because he studied out of county during the year prior to his election. H. C. Jarvis submitted a minority report supporting his eligibility. He was reelected but was forced to flee the county due to rising racist violence.
Rivers became the pastor of Metropolitan Baptist church in
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
in the 1890s, and he later served as the pastor of Berean Baptist Church in
Washington, D.C.
His son
Francis E. Rivers served in New York State's General Assembly and was an assistant district attorney.
See also
*
African Americans in Tennessee
*
African-American officeholders during and following the Reconstruction era
References
1859 births
1941 deaths
People from Fayette County, Tennessee
African-American state legislators in Tennessee
Republican Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives
20th-century African-American people
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