{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://mcclellan.house.gov/media/press-releases/icymi-senate-passes-mcclellans-legislation-rename-petersburg-post-office-honor", "ICYMI: Senate Passes McClellan\u2019s Legislation to Rename the Petersburg Post Office in Honor of John Mercer Langston", "2024-12-20", "2024", "2024-12", "Democrat", "House", "VA", "Jennifer L. McClellan", "M001227", "mcclellan.house.gov", "mcclellan", "https://mcclellan.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2014 In case you missed it (ICYMI): Last night, the U.S. Senate passed Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan\u2019s (VA-04) H.R. 7385 to rename the Petersburg Post Office as the \u201cJohn Mercer Langston United States Postal Service Building.\u201d\n\n\u201cJohn Mercer Langston was a trailblazer who broke barriers for Black Americans. He had a profound impact on the Petersburg community as the President of Virginia State University and the first Black man to represent Virginia in Congress \u2014 also from Virginia\u2019s Fourth. As the first Black woman to represent Virginia in Congress, I stand on his shoulders. As a young girl, I would visit the Petersburg Post Office with my father, and I hope this newly renamed post office will inspire other children to learn more about John Mercer Lamgston\u2019s life and legacy. I commend my Senate colleagues for passing this legislation and look forward to President Biden signing it into law.\u201d\n\nJohn Mercer Langston was an abolitionist, attorney, diplomat, voting rights advocate, educational administrator community leader, and the first Black man to represent Virginia in Congress. He served as President of the Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute \u2014 what is now VSU \u2014 from 1855 to 1857.\n\nThe U.S. Senate passed McClellan\u2019s legislation by unanimous consent. Her bill now heads to President Biden\u2019s desk for signature.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:07:19Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://mcclellan.house.gov/media/press-releases/icymi-senate-passes-mcclellans-legislation-rename-petersburg-post-office-honor"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8959888946264982, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}