Thomas_Beard_(Georgia_politician)
Thomas Payce Beard (December 28, 1837 – December 4, 1918) was a leader in the African American community, a Republican Party organizer, and part of a contested election in Georgia during the post-American Civil War Reconstruction Era. He contested the election of his Democratic Party opponent Stephen A. Corker to the U.S. House of Representatives citing voter intimidation including violent attacks, local police and election official interference, vote rigging, and voter fraud. Beard helped organize African American voters in the Republican Party after the American Civil War.[1]