From 1900 to 1959 setbacks for African Americans occurred following the restoration of white supremacy and political control across the South. These Redeemers, who undid Reconstruction era policies, retook control of local, state, and federal offices, restoring white supremacy across the South in government and civil life. African-Americans were largely barred from voting and almost entirely obstructed from public office in former Confederate states under the Jim Crow regime. The following is a list of African-American holders of public office from 1900 to 1959
The era also saw the appointment or election of the first African-American women to serve in elected public office. Minnie Buckingham Harper became the first African-American woman to serve in a state legislature when she was appointed in 1928 to serve out the remainder of her husband's term in the West Virginia House of Delegates. Crystal Bird Fauset was the first Black woman elected to a legislature when was elected to the Pennsylvania House in 1938. African-American women were also elected or appointed to state legislatures in Alaska, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Maryland, New Jersey and New York.
The number of African American officeholders finally saw dramatic increases following the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Federal office House of Representatives Oscar Stanton De Priest (1929-1953) from Chicago, Illinois Arthur Wergs Mitchell (1935-1943) from Chicago, Illinois Shirley A. Chisholm (1977-1981) from New York City's Bedstuy, Brooklyn neighborhood William L. Dawson (1943-1970) from Chicago, Illinois Adam Clayton Powell Jr. (1945-1971) from New York City's Harlem neighborhood Charles Diggs (1955-1980) from Detroit, Michigan Robert N. C. Nix Sr. (1958-1979) from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
State office Alaska House Blanche McSmith (1959)
California Assembly Frederick Madison Roberts (1918) representing Los Angeles, California Augustus Hawkins (1934-1960) representing Los Angeles, California
Colorado Senate George L. Brown (1957), representing Denver M, Colorado. He also served as Lieutenant Governor
House George L. Brown (1955)
Connecticut House Wilfred X. Johnson (1958), the Wilfred X. Johnson House where he lived is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Delaware House William J. Winchester (1948)
Georgia House H. F. McKay, state representative from Liberty County (1900-1901) Lectured Crawford, state representative from McIntosh County (1886-1887, 1890–1891, 1900–1901) W. H. Rogers, state representative from McIntosh County (1902-1908) Amos Rogers Hercules Wilson (1882-1885) Anthony Wilson, state representative from Camden County, Georgia (1884-1888?) (?-1893) Frasier / Frazier, first name unknown, state representative from Liberty County, Georgia Samuel A. McIvor, state representative for Liberty County, Georgia
Illinois Senate Adelbert H. Roberts (1924) William E. King (1934) William A. Wallace (1938) Christopher C. Wimbish (1942) Fred J. Smith (1954)
House John G. Jones (1900) Edward D. Green (1904) Alexander Lane (1907) Robert R. Jackson (1912) Sheadrick B. Turner (1914) Benjamin H. Lucas (1916) Warren B. Douglass (1918) George T. Kersey (1922) Charles A. Griffin (1924) William J. Warfield (1928) Charles J. Jenkins (1930) Harris B. Gaines (1930) Aubrey H. Smith (1934) Ernest A. Greene (1936) Richard A. Harewood (1936) Andrew A. Torrence (1938) Dudley S. Martin (1940) Corneal A. Davis (1943) Christopher C. Wimbish (1943) Charles T. Sykes (1944) Edward A. Welters (1944) James Y. Carter (1954) Kenneth E. Wilson (1954) William H. Robinson (1954) J. Horace Gardner (1956) Elwood Graham (1956) Floy Clements (1958) Cecil A. Partee (1957) Charles F. Armstrong (1957)
Local offices Oscar Stanton De Priest, Cook County Board of Commissioners (1904–1908), Chicago City Council (1915–1917, 1943–1947) Louis B. Anderson, Chicago City Council (1923-1933) William L. Dawson, Chicago City Council (1933-1939) Earl B. Dickerson, Chicago City Council (1939-1943) Claude Holman, Chicago City Council (1955-1973)
Indiana Senate Robert Brokenburr (1940)
House Harry H. Richardson (1932) Robert L. Stanton (1932) Marshall A. Talley (1932) James S. Hunter (1940) Jesse L. Dickinson (1942, 1944) Wilbur H. Grant (1942)
Kansas House W. M. Blount (1929-1930, 1933–1936) William H. Towers (1937-1939)
Kentucky House Charles W. Anderson Jr. (1936), a lawyer in Louisville
Maryland Senate Harry A. Cole (1955-1966)
House Emory Cole (1955) Truly Hatchett (1955) Verda Welcome (1958 ) Irma George Dixon (1958 )
Local offices Walter T. McGuinn, lawyer who served on Baltimore's city council from 1919-1923 and 1927-1931
Massachusetts House William H. Lewis (1902)
Michigan Senate Charles A. Roxborough (1930) Charles Diggs Sr. (1937-1944) Cora Brown (1952)
House James W. Ames (1901) Horace A. White (1941) Charline White (1950)
Local office William T. Patrick, Detroit City Council (1957-1963)
Missouri House Walthall M. Moore (1921) Edwin F. Kenswil (1943) William A. Massingale (1947-1948) Walter V. Lay (1949-1954) James Troupe Sr. (1954)
Nebraska Senate, then Unicameral Legislature John Adams Jr. (1937)
House (prior to 1937) T. L. Barnett (1924) A. A. McMillan (1924) John Andrew Singleton (1927) Johnny Owen (1933) John Adams Jr. (1935)
New Jersey General Assembly Walter G. Alexander (1920) Oliver Randolph (1922) James L. Baxter (1927) Frank S. Hargrave (1930-1931, 1933–1935, 1937-?, 1938–1942) J. Mercer Burrell (1933-1937) Guy R. Moorehead (1937-) James Otto Hill (1943-1947) Madaline A. Williams (1957)
New York Senate Julius A. Archibald (1953)
State Assembly Edward A. Johnson (1917) John C. Hawkins (1919) Henri W. Shields (1922) Pope B. Billups (1925) Lamar Perkins (1930) Francis E. Rivers (1930) James E. Stevens (1930) William T. Andrews (1934) Robert W. Justice (1935) Daniel Burrows (1938) Hulan E. Jack (1940) William E. Prince (1944) Bessie A. Buchanan (1955)
Local office Charles H. Roberts, New York City Board of Aldermen (1920-1921) George W. Harris, New York City Board of Aldermen (1920-1923) Adam Clayton Powell Jr., New York City Council (1942-1945) Benjamin J. Davis Jr., New York City Council (1945-1949)
Ohio Senate
House George W. Hayes (1901) H. T. Eubanks (1904) A. Lee Beaty (1919) Henry Higgins (1919) Harry E. Davis (1921) E. W. B. Curry (1924) Perry B. Jackson (1928) Chester K. Gillespie (1933-1935, 1943–1945) Richard P. McClain (1934) David D. Turpeau (1940) Sandy F. Ray (1942) Jacob Ashburn Sr. (1944)
Local office Thomas W. Fleming, Member, Cleveland City Council
Oklahoma House A. C. Hamlin (1908)
Pennsylvania House Harry W. Bass (1911) John C. Asbury (1920) Andrew F. Stephens (1920) William H. Fuller (1924) Samuel B. Hart (1924) Walter E. Tucker (1930) John William Harris (1932) Homer S. Brown (1934) Richard A. Cooper (1934) Walter K. Jackson (!934) Hobson R. Reynolds (1935-1936, 1939–1940) Marshall L. Shephard (1935-1938, 1941–1942) William A. Allmond (1936) John H. Brigerman (1937-1938, 1943–1944) Samuel D. Holmes (1936) Edwin F. Thompson (1936) E. Washington Rhodes (1938) Crystal Bird Fauset (1938) Ralph T. Jefferson (1940) Edward C. Young (1940) Dennie W. Hoggard (1943-1946, 1949–1954) Lewis M. Mintess (1943-1944, 1947–1952) Thomas P. Trent (1943-1946, 1950–1951) Lee P. Myhan (1945-1946) J. Thompson Pettigrew (1945-1946, 1949–1956) William A. Upshur (1947-1948) Garfield B. Harris (1953-1954) Susie Monroe (1949-1968)
Vermont House William J. Anderson (1944)
Washington House John H. Ryan (1933) Charles Stokes
West Virginia House James M. Ellis (1902) Howard Railey (1904) Ebenezer Howard Harper (1917) Harry J. Capehart (1919–1925) Minnie Buckingham Harper (1928, appointed)
Wisconsin Assembly Lucian H. Palmer (1906) Cleveland Moland Colbert (1942), elected but decertified after recount Leroy J. Simmons (1944)
See also African American officeholders from the end of the Civil War until before 1900
References