His Life Was Threatened By The Klan
With violence against Black people increasing in the South, in 1874 Rainey purchased a home (which could not be his primary residence). The Joseph H. Rainey House, which is at 299 Palisado Avenue in Windsor, was designated as one of 130 stops on the Connecticut Freedom Trail, established in 1996 to highlight the achievements of African Americans in gaining freedom and civil rights. Despite the threats, Rainey continued his work in Congress to protect the civil rights of Southern blacks as well as the Black economy. In 1878 Rainey acted to ensure the passage of an $18 million civil service appropriation bill that would not have been passed without his firm presence. He did his work in the face of terror as paramilitary groups like the Red Shirts openly murdered and brutalized Black bodies in the Carolinas and Louisiana.
