Benjamin F. Randolph | |
|---|---|
 Benjamin F. Randolph, Harper's Weekly, October 25, 1868 | |
| Member of the South Carolina Senate from the Orangeburg district | |
| In office August 11, 1868 – October 16, 1868 | |
| Preceded by | Reconstruction Era |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1820 Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | October 16, 1868 Hodges, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Resting place | Randolph Cemetery 34°0′35.23″N 81°3′14.17″W / 34.0097861°N 81.0539361°W |
| Political party | Republican |
| Alma mater | Oberlin College |
| Profession | Minister (Christianity), Newspaper Editor, Educator |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States (Union) |
| Branch/service | U.S. Army (Union Army) |
| Years of service | 1863–1865 |
| Unit | 26th United States Colored Infantry Regiment |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Benjamin Franklin Randolph (1820 – October 16, 1868) was an American educator, spiritual advisor, newspaper editor who served as a South Carolina state senator during the Reconstruction Era. Randolph was selected to be one of the first African American Electors in the United States at the 1868 Republican National Convention for the Ulysses Grant Republican presidential ticket. Randolph also served as the chair of the state Republican Party Central Committee. He was a delegate to the 1868 South Carolina Constitutional Convention, where he played an important role in establishing the first universal public education system in the state, and in granting for the first time the right to vote to black men and non-property owning European-American men. On October 16, 1868, Randolph was assassinated by members of the Ku Klux Klan.