The first African-American to serve on the Alabama State Board of Education was Peyton Finley (1871–1873) from Lafayette in Chambers County who was "free-born" from birth in 1824. Active in the Republican Party after the Civil War, during the Reconstruction era, he served a single term on the State School Board. Among his contributions was the introduction of a measure to the board to create Alabama's first institution of higher-learning for blacks.
The first African-American to serve on the Alabama State Board of Education was Peyton Finley (1871–1873) from Lafayette in Chambers County who was "free-born" from birth in 1824. Active in the Republican Party after the Civil War, during the Reconstruction era, he served a single term on the State School Board. Among his contributions was the introduction of a measure to the board to create Alabama's first institution of higher-learning for blacks.