Hobson R. Reynolds (September 13, 1898 – February 4, 1991) was an African-American funeral director, a state legislator, public official, judge, and civil rights leader who lived in Pennsylvania.
Early life
Reynolds was born in
Winton, North Carolina, on September 13, 1898.
He attended North Carolina State Teachers Training School and Eckels College of Mortuary Science.
He married Evelyn C. Crawford in 1926 in
Philadelphia.
Career
Reynolds was a well-known funeral home director in
Philadelphia. He was heavily involved in politics and served as a Representative on the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts.
It ...
as a Republican for the 1935 term, drafting the first civil rights legislation for the state titled the Reynolds Civil Rights Bill, and as a Democrat for the 1939 term.
He was also elected as a
Magistrate for the Philadelphia City Court from 1944 to 1950.
In 1959, he was appointed to the Fair Housing Administration by President
Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Reynolds was chosen to give the seconding speech for Eisenhower at the
Republican National Convention
The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...
in 1952. President
Franklin D. Roosevelt chose Renyolds as an observer to the formation of the
United Nations and Reynolds was appointed as Assistant Secretary to the
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the World
Reynolds was a prominent member of the
Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the World, a Black fraternal organization. He joined in the early 1930s and became the Grand Director of the Civil Liberties Department in 1939.
He held this post for twenty-five years where he fought in the
Civil rights movement alongside other prominent Civil Rights leaders such as
Martin Luther King Jr. He investigated lynchings and racial discrimination, lobbied for justice and equality in government, law enforcement, and education, and urged African-Americans to register to vote.
He created the
Elijah Parish Lovejoy
Elijah Parish Lovejoy (November 9, 1802 – November 7, 1837) was an American Presbyterian minister, journalist, newspaper editor, and abolitionist. Following his murder by a mob, he became a martyr to the abolitionist cause opposing slavery ...
Award within the Elks, not to be confused with the
Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award
The Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award is presented annually by Colby College to a member of the newspaper profession who has contributed to the country's journalistic achievement. The award is named for Elijah Parish Lovejoy, and established in 1952.
...
, which was given to prominent leaders such as
Martin Luther King Jr.,
Ralph Bunche
Ralph Johnson Bunche (; August 7, 1904 – December 9, 1971) was an American political scientist, diplomat, and leading actor in the mid-20th-century decolonization process and US civil rights movement, who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize f ...
,
A. Philip Randolph
Asa Philip Randolph (April 15, 1889 – May 16, 1979) was an American labor unionist and civil rights activist. In 1925, he organized and led the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first successful African-American led labor union. In ...
,
Roy Wilkins,
Adam Clayton Powell Jr.
Adam Clayton Powell Jr. (November 29, 1908 – April 4, 1972) was an American Baptist pastor and politician who represented the Harlem neighborhood of New York City in the United States House of Representatives from 1945 until 1971. He was t ...
,
Whitney Young
Whitney Moore Young Jr. (July 31, 1921 – March 11, 1971) was an American civil rights leader. Trained as a social worker, he spent most of his career working to end employment discrimination in the United States and turning the National Urban ...
,
Mary McLeod Bethune,
Branch Rickey
Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was an American baseball player and sports executive. Rickey was instrumental in breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier by signing black player Jackie Robinson. He also creat ...
,
Thurgood Marshall,
Marian Anderson,
Edward Brooke,
Dorothy Height,
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson (né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American political activist, Baptist minister, and politician. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as a shadow U.S. senator ...
,
Coretta Scott King, and
Vernon Jordan.
In 1960, he became the Grand Exalted Ruler which he held until 1982.
In the 1960s, he donated his 77-acre farm in
Winton, North Carolina for the new national headquarters of the Elks National Shrine.
Later Life
Reynolds died on February 4, 1991 in
Ahoskie, North Carolina. He is buried with his wife at the Hobson R. Reynolds National Elks Shrine in
Winton, North Carolina.
See also
*
List of African-American officeholders (1900–1959)
The following is a list of African-American holders of public office from 1900 to 1959. This period saw setbacks for African Americans following the Reconstruction era after "Redeemer" Democrats retook control of the South and restored white supre ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reynolds, Hobson R.
1898 births
1991 deaths
African-American state legislators in Pennsylvania
African-American judges
20th-century American judges
20th-century American legislators
20th-century African-American politicians
20th-century Pennsylvania politicians