An African American and a Republican, he served as a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives for Fayette County from 1883 to 1884.

[3] He taught at his alma mater, Roger Williams University, in Nashville, Tennessee.

[1] His eligibility for office was contested because he studied out of county during the year prior to his election.

[4] He was reelected but was forced to flee the county due to rising racist violence.

Rivers became the pastor of Metropolitan Baptist church in Kansas City, Missouri in the 1890s, and he later served as the pastor of Berean Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.[1][5] His son Francis E. Rivers served in New York State's General Assembly and was an assistant district attorney.