Adam Clayton Powell Jr is hailed for making significant contributions to black history. He was the first African American from New York to serve in Congress, a position he held for 25 years. Clayton was also a vocal advocate for civil rights, supporting legislation to eliminate racial discrimination. Powell was so determined to see social change that he once headed a campaign dubbed ‘Don’t Buy Where You Can’t Work.’ The campaign saw African Americans secure employment in New York stores and utility companies. He was also appointed chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, a position he used to propose increased federal funding for education and eliminate racial segregation in public schools. It was during Clayton’s tenure that the committee passed dozens of social and economic measures to improve African Americans’ living conditions. The committee passed legislation to provide student loans, improve education and training for deaf people, and provide school lunches in public schools.
If 20% of the votes are from Negroes, they are entitled to 20% of the jobs.
Adam Clayton Powell Jr
Adam Clayton Powell Jr. was born in 1908 to Adam Clayton Powell Sr. and Mattie Buster Shaffer in New Haven, Connecticut. His father, a pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church, had worked his way out of poverty, attending Wayland Seminary, a black college, and Yale University for postgraduate study. In 1908, he was appointed pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church, a role he passed on to his son, Powell Jr. Like his father, Powell Jr. used the platform to preach and conduct community initiatives. He would help thousands in the community find jobs, clothes, and food through a job referral service, a free food pantry, and literacy classes he operated.
Powell’s compassion is legendary in Black American history as he’s rumored to have donated his shoes to a poor man who couldn’t find his size in the church clothing bin. At the same time, Powell began many activism initiatives, the first being in 1939 when he led a protest to increase the number of black Americans employed at the New York World Fair. In 1941, he initiated a boycott to compel city officials to employ blacks to drive buses in Harlem. Clayton’s efforts yielded fruit as many black Americans secured employment in places where they were previously profiled. It also marked the beginning of Powell’s political career as he was elected to the New York City Council that year. Three years later, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, making him the first black to hold such a position in African American history. Later, he put forward a bill to compel the state to fund segregated institutions.
Powell re-introduced the legislation several times until it was incorporated in the 1964 Civil Rights Act. He was also instrumental in ensuring that the state recognized lynching as a federal crime and that racist Congressmen stopped using the word ‘nigger’ during sessions. Having served the state and his people with such zeal and dedication, Adam Clayton’s contributions to black history online remain etched in our minds forever. Adam died in 1972 in Florida while battling prostate cancer.
Only judicial, legislative, and executive action can guarantee complete freedom.
Adam Clayton Powell Jr