The role of African Americans in Senate history is not limited to those who served in elected office. In fact, one of the earliest and most enduring roles of African Americans in Senate history came with the construction of the U.S. Capitol. Although historians know little about the laborers who built the Capitol, evidence shows that much of that labor force was African American, both free and enslaved. Well known are key individuals who contributed to the design and construction of the federal city, such as Benjamin Banneker, the free African American mathematician who helped set the boundaries of the District of Columbia in 1791. Philip Reid, a slave, brought to the Capitol the mechanical expertise needed to place the Statue of Freedom atop the Capitol Dome in 1863.  

One of the first African Americans known to be hired in a professional clerical position was Jesse Nichols, who served as government documents clerk for the Senate Finance Committee from 1937 to 1971. Christine McCreary, staffer for Senators Stuart Symington and John Glenn, was one of the first staff members to challenge the de facto segregation that existed on Capitol Hill in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1985, Trudi Morrison became the first woman and the first African American to serve as Deputy Sergeant at Arms of the Senate. Alfonso E. Lenhardt, who served as Sergeant at Arms from 2001 to 2003, was the first African American to hold one of the top two administrative positions in the Senate. The Senate appointed Dr. Barry C. Black as Senate Chaplain on July 7, 2003, another first for African Americans in the Senate.