Joseph H. Stuart, also known as J. H. Stuart (1854–1910), from the British West Indies, settled in Colorado and in 1891 was the second black lawyer that practiced law. In 1895, he became the second African American legislator in the state's history, after Rep. John T. Gunnell. He worked on a bill to ensure equal access to public places, regardless of a person's race. The bill passed, but was not very effective due to racial discrimination and lack of resources to enforce it. Before coming to Denver, he was an educator in South Carolina and a lawyer in Kansas.