Hi! To round out the seven categories (and the category I prefer to end the series with), I save activism and politics for last. Many Black History Spotlight entrants have 'activist' somewhere in their bios or professional descriptors so you could argue that this doesn't need its own category, but I put them in this category because during the civil rights movement, the activists helped influence society, which in turn was able to progress to wanting new laws set in place, which was helped along by politicians whose values reflected those in charge of the march. Politicians who doubled as activists, such as today's entrant, were the true hole in one, because they understood the weight of the platforms they stood on and used them to further the causes of moving the community forward. Today's entrant was a bit controversial during the civil rights movement, which was news to me, and I think I'd like to explore some of that. Check today's further reading links; I left a lot out. Let's get into it!
Name: Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., 1908-1972
Profession: Politician, pastor, activist
Why is the Spotlight on him today? For his accomplishments in politics and his part in the civil rights movement, providing a useful platform to spread his message
History and notables:
--Was the first African-American to be elected to the NY City Council and later the first Black Congressman from NY to be elected as a Representative
--Had a racially ambiguous appearance due to his mixed race and took advantage of his white-passing privilege to sidestep the racial limitations placed on other Black students, which got him ostracized from that community once it was revealed
--Created The People's Voice, a newspaper that he and other influential African-Americans used to broadcast their message of progression, educate readers on civil rights issues and even African happenings, until it was shut down for suspected communist connections four years later
--Pledged to Alpha Phi Alpha, the first Black intercollegiate Greek fraternity
--Became an assistant pastor in his father's church and was able to use his pulpit to advocate for community and social change
--While assistant pastor, called for protests on a neighborhood hospital for firing Black doctors, organizing a relief program sponsored by his church to provide food, clothing, shelter jobs for his neighborhood's homeless community, and directed meetings and campaigns to increase Black employment
--Was revealed to have embellished his family history by claiming his paternal grandparents were born into slavery but in truth had been free for at least 3 generations prior
--During his time as a Representative, challenged the unfair treatment he received in comparison to White Representatives by using Whites only facilities while at work, going to the Whites only House restaurant and directly challenging his Southern White Representative colleagues, who were disfranchising Black voters in the South
--Was at one time a close colleague of MLK Jr., but fell out of favor with him after Powell threatened to lie to the media about one of King's friendships in order to get King to cancel planned civil rights marches during the Democratic Convention; the professional relationship was all but severed after Powell later denounced the nonviolence movement many of the civil rights leaders preferred
--Created the "Don't Buy Where You Can't Work" program, which successfully increased Black employment in NY and showed the value of the Black dollar if pulled out of places with discriminatory hiring practices
--In collaboration with the NAACP, developed what was later named "The Powell Amendments," a series of bills Powell repeatedly introduced to the House in support of outlawing discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, religion or origin; was later incorporated into the groundbreaking Civil Rights Act of 1964 as Title VI
--During his tenure as an MLK associate, joined the advisory committee of the SCLC (until the first spat with King over the civil rights marches at the DC, at which point he resigned) and donated to the Montgomery Improvement Association as a formal endorsement of King's values
--Gained support internationally after attending an Asian-African Conference overseas and made a positive impression during public speeches, which won him a meeting with then-President Eisenhower
--The meeting with the President resulted in his pitching the concept of overseas tours to introduce international audiences to American arts and mixed race music groups, in competition with the Soviets, which was successful and went on for a number of years afterward
--Introduced bills to criminalize lynching, end discrimination and deny federal funding to groups who still used discriminatory methods, which earned him the ire of his colleagues
--Served as chairman on the panel of the merged Education and Labor Committees for 3 terms, where he authorized federal funding and the introduction of programs designed to increase minimum wage, provide school lunches, establish wage and hour standards for employees, provide aid to libraries and elementary and secondary schools, and establish specialized education and training for the deaf
--Earned himself exile from the White House during then-President Truman's tenure for becoming incensed at the then-First Lady and publicly scolding her for not intervening after his wife was at the receiving end of racism from the Daughters of the American Revolution
--Despite his public successes, found himself at the root of several controversies, most of which did not severely impact his support or positioning until the mid-60s, towards the end of his career, when they began to catch up with him and diminish his public standing
--Was finally successfully ousted after repeated investigations and growing public concern over his personal conduct (throughout his career, missed 797 of 2, 827 roll calls), mismanaging his budget, and taking trips with public money, culminating in the Democratic Caucus stripping him of his chairmanship
--Was voted for exclusion by the House following a formal investigation and he responded by suing for unconstitutional removal (which he later won); won a Special Election to reclaim his seat and was re-elected afterward, but a year later was denied seniority and later failed re-election, marking the end of his political career
Resources and further reading:
Quote of the Day:
"Unless man is committed to the belief that all mankind are his brothers, then he labors in vain and hypocritically in the vineyards of equality."
-Adam Powell, Jr.
Today's organization: Community Voices Heard
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What does the organization provide? A grassroots approach to empowering lower-income families and families of different races in New York. They help empower residents to take leadership positions in their communities, then help them to introduce new policies that will help the new community leaders/members to create the social changes they seek, turn those ground policies into actual laws and ordinances, all with the hopeful end goal of creating a better state for the residents and communities living there. The end goal of creating a more just and fair state has several areas that CVH works to improve: housing justice for low-income and working NY families, job support and safety net programs to help those who may have to take time off, a combined effort of creating better transportation that's more environmentally-friendly, creating community democracies who provide their input on issues that affect the community, criminal justice reform and fairer policies for minority inmates, immigration reform, and helping low-income families find their voice in the climate change movement.
See you tomorrow!
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