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 Roger Williams University (RWU) is a private university in Bristol, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1956, it was named for theologian and Rhode Island cofounder Roger Williams. The school enrolled approximately 4,400 undergraduate and ...

, in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. 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, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

in the 1890s, and he later served as the pastor of Berean Baptist Church in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

His son Francis E. Rivers served in New York State's General Assembly and was an assistant district attorney.

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 19th-century members of the Tennessee General Assembly {{Tennessee-politician-stub

See also

References