CHARLESTON — The first black representative elected to the South Carolina House since Reconstruction has died at age 92.
Frederick A. Fielding says his father, Herbert U. Fielding of Charleston, died of natural causes Monday.
The elder Fielding was elected to the House in 1970 and would later serve in the state Senate during the 1980s and 1990s. He made an unsuccessful run for Congress in 1992.
He helped operate Fielding Home for Funerals, the largest black-owned funeral home in the state, and was active in political and civic activities.
His son says Fielding's most cherished honor was the Order of the Palmetto, the state's highest civilian award.
Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr., told The Post and Courier (http://bit.ly/1hvChVD) that Fielding was a gentle man dedicated to advancing civil rights.