Julian Carey Dixon (August 8, 1934 – December 8, 2000) was an American Democratic politician from California who was a member of the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The A ...

from 1973 to 1978 and then a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from 1979 until his death. He chaired the

House Ethics Committee The Committee on Ethics, often known simply as the Ethics Committee, is one of the committees of the United States House of Representatives. Prior to the 112th Congress it was known as the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. The House E ...

from 1985 to 1991.

Biography

A member of the aristocratic

Syphax family The Syphax family is a prominent American family in the Washington, DC area. A part of the African-American upper class, the family is descended from Charles Syphax and Mariah Carter Syphax, both born into slavery. She was the daughter of an ens ...

, Dixon was born in Washington D.C. and served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

from 1957 to 1960. He graduated from

California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public university in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degrees, 122 master's degrees, ...

in 1962. He was elected to the

as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

in 1972, and served in that body for three terms. Dixon was elected to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

in 1978. In 1983 he joined with 7 other Congressional Representatives to sponsor a resolution to impeach Ronald Reagan over his sudden and unexpected

invasion of Grenada The United States invasion of Grenada began at dawn on 25 October 1983. The United States and a coalition of six Caribbean nations invaded the island nation of Grenada, north of Venezuela. Codenamed Operation Urgent Fury by the U.S. military, ...

. He chaired the rules committee at the

1984 Democratic National Convention The 1984 Democratic National Convention was held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California from July 16 to July 19, 1984, to select candidates for the 1984 United States presidential election. Former Vice President Walter Mondale was nom ...

and the ethics probe into Speaker

Jim Wright James Claude Wright Jr. (December 22, 1922 – May 6, 2015) was an American politician who served as the 48th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 1989. He represented Texas's 12th congressional district as a ...

. Dixon won re-election to the

107th United States Congress The 107th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3 ...

, but died at a hospital in

Marina Del Rey, California Marina del Rey (Spanish for "Marina of the King") is an unincorporated seaside community in Los Angeles County, California, with an eponymous harbor that is a major boating and water recreation destination of the greater Los Angeles area. The p ...

on December 8, 2000, aged 66, following a heart attack. The busy 7th Street / Metro Center / Julian Dixon transfer station for the A Line, B Line, D Line, and E Line in downtown Los Angeles is named after Dixon, with a plaque commemorating his role in obtaining the federal funding that enabled construction of the Metro Rail system. His alma mater,

Southwestern University School of Law Southwestern Law School is a private law school in Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and enrolls nearly 1,000 students. Its campus includes the Bullocks Wilshire building, an art deco National Register o ...

, in 2004 opened the Julian C. Dixon Courtroom and Advocacy Center in the former

Bullocks Wilshire Bullocks Wilshire, located at 3050 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, is a Art Deco building. The building opened in September 1929 as a luxury department store for owner John G. Bullock (owner of the more mainstream Bullock's in Down ...

building. The

Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most ...

branch of the Los Angeles County Library is also named in his honor
Culver City Julian Dixon Library
The third revised edition of ''Black Americans in Congress 1870-2007'' (House Document 108-224, Serial Set v.14904) is dedicated to the memory of Dixon. Remarks requesting this were made by several of his colleagues March 21, 2001 on the

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

floor during consideration of House Concurrent Resolution 43 of the 107th Congress which ordered the printing of the revised edition.

Congressional Record The ''Congressional Record'' is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published by the United States Government Publishing Office and issued when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record Inde ...

ound editionv.147 pt.3, pp.4107-4112 Dixon was a member of

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the 1905–1906 school year at Cornell University but later evolved int ...

fraternity. He was interred at Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, California.

References

External links

Julian C. Dixon Courtroom and Advocacy Center
* *
Join California Julian C. Dixon
, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Dixon, Julian Carey 1934 births 2000 deaths 20th-century American politicians African-American members of the United States House of Representatives African-American United States Army personnel African-American state legislators in California Burials at Inglewood Park Cemetery California State University, Los Angeles alumni Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California Military personnel from Washington, D.C. Politicians from Los Angeles Politicians from Washington, D.C. Southwestern Law School alumni United States Army soldiers 20th-century African-American politicians Syphax family

Biography

See also

References

External links