Complex sentence: He served as first black Secretary of State and Superintendent of Public Instruction of Florida, and along with Josiah Thomas Walls, was among the most powerful black officeholders in the state during Reconstruction.
Split into simpler sentences: He served as Florida's first black Secretary of State and Superintendent of Public Instruction. Along with Josiah Thomas Walls, Gibbs was one of the most powerful African-American officeholders in the state of Florida during Reconstruction.