Oscar Stanton De Priest (March 9, 1871 – May 12, 1951) was an American politician and
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...
advocate from Chicago. A member of the
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
Republican Party, he was the first
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
to be elected to
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
in the 20th century. During his three terms, he was the only African American serving in Congress. He served as a
U.S. Representative
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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
from
Illinois's 1st congressional district
Illinois's first congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Illinois. Based in Cook County, the district includes much of the South Side of Chicago, and continues southwest to Joliet.
From 2003 to early 2013 it ext ...
from 1929 to 1935. De Priest was also the first African-American U.S. Representative from outside the
southern states and the first since the exit of North Carolina representative
George Henry White from Congress in 1901.
Born in Alabama to
freedmen
A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), emancipation (granted freedom a ...
parents, De Priest was raised in
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...
. He studied business and made a fortune in Chicago as a contractor, and in real estate and the stock market before the Crash. A successful local politician, he was elected to the
Chicago City Council in 1914, the first African American to hold that office.
In Congress in the early 1930s, he spoke out against racial discrimination, including at speaking events in the South; tried to integrate the House public restaurant; gained passage of an amendment to
desegregate
Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups, usually referring to races. Desegregation is typically measured by the index of dissimilarity, allowing researchers to determine whether desegregation efforts are having impact o ...
the
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...
, one of the work programs under President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
's
New Deal; and introduced anti-
lynching legislation to the House (it was not passed because of the
Solid South
The Solid South or Southern bloc was the electoral voting bloc of the states of the Southern United States for issues that were regarded as particularly important to the interests of Democrats in those states. The Southern bloc existed especial ...
Democratic opposition).
[De Priest, Oscar Stanton]
''US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives''. Retrieved January 29, 2022. In 1934, De Priest was defeated by
Arthur W. Mitchell
Arthur Wergs Mitchell, Sr. (December 22, 1883 – May 9, 1968), was a U.S. Representative from Illinois. For his entire congressional career from 1935 to 1943, he was the only African American in Congress. Mitchell was the first African American ...
, the first African American to be elected as a Democrat to Congress. De Priest returned to Chicago and his successful business ventures, eventually returning to politics, when he was again elected
Chicago alderman in the 1940s.
[
]
Early life
De Priest was born in 1871 in Florence, Alabama, to freedmen
A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), emancipation (granted freedom a ...
, former slaves of mixed race. He had a brother named Robert. His mother, Martha Karsner, worked part-time as a laundress, and his father Neander was a teamster
A teamster is the American term for a truck driver or a person who drives teams of draft animals. Further, the term often refers to a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a labor union in the United States and Canada.
Origi ...
, associated with the "Exodus" movement.[ After the Civil War, thousands of blacks left continued oppression by whites in the South by moving to other states that offered promises of freedom and greater economic opportunities, such as Kansas. Others moved later in the century.]
In 1878, the year after Reconstruction
Reconstruction may refer to:
Politics, history, and sociology
*Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company
*'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...
had ended and federal troops been withdrawn from the region, the De Priests left Alabama for Dayton, Ohio. Violence had increased in Alabama as whites were restoring white supremacy
White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White s ...
: the elder De Priest had to save his friend, former U.S. Representative James T. Rapier, from a lynch mob, and a black man was killed on their doorstep. The boy Oscar attended local schools in Dayton.
Career
Business
De Priest went to Salina, Kansas
Salina is a city in, and the county seat of, Saline County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,889.
In the early 1800s, the Kanza tribal land reached eastward from the middle of the Kansas Territory. In 1 ...
, to study bookkeeping at the Salina Normal School, established also for the training of teachers. In 1889, he moved to Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
, which had been booming as an industrial city. He worked first as an apprentice plasterer, house painter, and decorator. He became a successful contractor and real estate broker. He built a fortune in the stock market and in real estate by helping black families move into formerly all-white neighborhoods, often ones formerly occupied by ethnic white immigrants and their descendants. There was population succession in many neighborhoods under the pressure of new migrants.
Politics
From 1904 to 1908, De Priest was a member of the board of commissioners of Cook County, Illinois
Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 2 ...
.[
De Priest was elected in 1914 to the Chicago City Council, serving from 1915 to 1917 as alderman from the 2nd Ward, on the South Side. He was Chicago's first black alderman. In 1917 De Priest was indicted for alleged ]graft
Graft or grafting may refer to:
*Graft (politics), a form of political corruption
* Graft, Netherlands, a village in the municipality of Graft-De Rijp
Science and technology
*Graft (surgery), a surgical procedure
*Grafting, the joining of plant t ...
and resigned from the City Council.[ He hired nationally known ]Clarence Darrow
Clarence Seward Darrow (; April 18, 1857 – March 13, 1938) was an American lawyer who became famous in the early 20th century for his involvement in the Leopold and Loeb murder trial and the Scopes "Monkey" Trial. He was a leading member of t ...
as his defense attorney and was acquitted.[ He was succeeded in office by Louis B. Anderson.]
In 1919, De Priest ran unsuccessfully for alderman as a member of the People's Movement Club, a political organization he founded. In a few years, De Priest's black political organization became the most powerful of many in Chicago, and he became the top black politician under Chicago Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
mayor William Hale Thompson
William Hale Thompson (May 14, 1869 – March 19, 1944) was an American politician who served as mayor of Chicago from 1915 to 1923 and again from 1927 to 1931. Known as "Big Bill", Reynolds, Paul (November 29, 2009)"US-UK 'Special Relationshi ...
.
In 1928, when Republican congressman Martin B. Madden died, Mayor Thompson selected De Priest to replace him on the ballot. He was the first African American elected to Congress outside the South and the first to be elected in the 20th century. He represented the 1st Congressional District of Illinois (which included The Loop and part of the South Side of Chicago
The South Side is an area of Chicago, Illinois, U.S. It lies south of the city's Loop area in the downtown. Geographically, it is the largest of the three sides of the city that radiate from downtown, with the other two being the north and w ...
) as a Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
.[ During the 1930 election, De Priest was challenged in the primary by noted African-American spokesperson, orator, and Republican Roscoe Conkling Simmons. De Priest defeated Simmons' primary challenge and won the general election afterward. During De Priest's three consecutive terms (1929–1935), he was the only black representative in Congress. He introduced several anti-discrimination bills during these years of the Great Depression.
DePriest's 1933 amendment barring discrimination in the ]Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...
(CCC), a program of the New Deal to employ people across the country in building infrastructure, was passed by the Senate and signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
. His anti- lynching bill (House Joint Resolution 171, in 1933) failed due to opposition by the white Democrats of the Solid South
The Solid South or Southern bloc was the electoral voting bloc of the states of the Southern United States for issues that were regarded as particularly important to the interests of Democrats in those states. The Southern bloc existed especial ...
, although it would not have made lynching a federal crime. (Previous anti-lynching bills had also failed to pass the Senate, which was dominated by the South since its disenfranchisement of blacks at the turn of the century.) He presented the legislation with a long and detailed speech in which he read newspaper reports and legal opinions: he included the names of victims of lynchings from 1927 on, and provided graphic details of these murders. A third proposal, a bill to permit a transfer of jurisdiction if a defendant believed he or she could not get a fair trial because of race or religion, was passed by a later Congress.
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...
activists criticized De Priest for opposing federal aid to the poor, although they nevertheless applauded him for making public speeches in the South despite death threats. They also praised De Priest for telling an Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
senator he was not big enough to prevent him from dining in the private Senate restaurant. (Some Congressmen ate in the Senate restaurant to avoid De Priest, who usually ate in the Members Dining Room designated for Congressmen.) The public areas of the House and Senate restaurants were segregated. The House accepted that De Priest sometimes brought black staff or visitors to the Members Dining Room, but objected when he entertained mixed groups there.[Elliott M. Rudwick, "Oscar De Priest and the Jim Crow Restaurant in the U. S. House of Representatives"](_blank)
''The Journal of Negro Education'' Vol. 35, No. 1 (Winter, 1966), pp. 77–82, via JSTOR, accessed 21 March 2016
De Priest defended the right of students of Howard University
Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...
, a historically black college
Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. M ...
in Washington, D.C., to eat in the public section of the House restaurant and not be restricted to a section in the basement near the kitchen, used mostly by black employees and visitors. He took this issue of discrimination against the students (and other black visitors) to a special bipartisan House committee. In a three-month-long heated debate, the Republican political minority argued that the restaurant's discriminatory practice violated 14th Amendment rights to equal access. The Democratic majority skirted the issue by claiming that the restaurant was a private facility and not open to the public. The House restaurant remained segregated through much of the 1940s and maybe as late as 1952.
Mostly aligned with the political right, De Priest generally opposed liberal federal programs under the New Deal, instead favoring increased initiatives on the state or local level.[ He also was vocal in his denunciation of communism, fearing that its influence would spread to disgruntled blacks. He unsuccessfully pushed to enact a special committee that would investigate the ]Communist Party of the United States
The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revo ...
.[
In 1929, De Priest made national news when First Lady ]Lou Hoover
Lou Hoover (née Henry; March 29, 1874 – January 7, 1944) was an American philanthropist, geologist, and First Lady of the United States from 1929 to 1933 as the wife of President Herbert Hoover. She was active in numerous community organizatio ...
invited his wife, Jessie De Priest, to a traditional tea for congressional wives at the White House.
De Priest appointed Benjamin O. Davis Jr. to the United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...
at a time when the only African-American line officer in the Army was Davis's father
A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...
.
By the early 1930s, De Priest's popularity waned because he continued to oppose higher taxes on the rich and fought Depression-era federal relief programs under President Roosevelt.[ De Priest was defeated in the ]1934 United States House of Representatives elections
The 1934 United States House of Representatives elections were held in the middle of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's first term. The Democratic Party continued its progress, gaining another 9 net seats from the opposition Republican Party, who ...
by Republican-turned-Democrat African-American Arthur W. Mitchell
Arthur Wergs Mitchell, Sr. (December 22, 1883 – May 9, 1968), was a U.S. Representative from Illinois. For his entire congressional career from 1935 to 1943, he was the only African American in Congress. Mitchell was the first African American ...
, who campaigned on support for the New Deal.[ After returning to his businesses and political life in Chicago, De Priest was elected again to the Chicago City Council in 1943 as alderman of the 3rd Ward, serving until 1947. He died in Chicago at 80 and is buried in ]Graceland Cemetery
Graceland Cemetery is a large historic garden cemetery located in the north side community area of Uptown, in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Established in 1860, its main entrance is at the intersection of Clark Street and Ir ...
.
Personal life
De Priest married the former Jessie L. Williams (September 3, 1870 – March 31, 1961).[
] They had two sons together: Laurence W. (1899 – July 28, 1916), who died at the age of 16. and Oscar Stanton De Priest, Jr. (May 24, 1906 – November 8, 1983) A great-grandson of Oscar De Priest, Jr., Philip R. DePriest, became the administrator of his estate after his grandmother's death in 1992. This included his great-grandfather's Oscar Stanton De Priest House, now a National Historic Landmark, which still held his locked political office. This had not been touched since about 1951. This great-grandson has been working to restore the office and house, and assessing the political archives—"a veritable treasure trove."
Legacy and honors
* The Oscar Stanton De Priest House in Chicago, at 45th and King Drive, has been designated as a National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
and city landmark.Illinois: Oscar Stanton De Priest House
''National Park Service''. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
Electoral history
See also
* List of African American firsts
African-Americans are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group in the United States. The first achievements by African-Americans in diverse fields have historically marked footholds, often leading to more widespread cultural chang ...
* List of African-American United States representatives
The United States House of Representatives has had 156 elected African Americans, African-American members, of whom 150 have been representatives from U.S. states and 6 have been Non-voting members of the United States House of Representatives, ...
* Oscar Stanton De Priest House
References
Bibliography
* Day, S. Davis. "Herbert Hoover and Racial Politics: The De Priest Incident". ''Journal of Negro History'' 65 (Winter 1980): 6–17.
* Gosnell, Harold F. ''Negro politicians; the rise of Negro politics in Chicago'' (1935
online
* Hendricks, Wanda A. "'Vote for the Advantage of Ourselves and Our Race': The Election of the First Black Alderman in Chicago." ''Illinois Historical Journal'' 87.3 (1994): 171–184
online
* Mann, Kenneth Eugene. "Oscar Stanton DePriest: Persuasive Agent for the Black Masses." ''Negro History Bulletin'' 35.6 (1972): 134–137
online
* Nordhaus-Bike, Anne. "Oscar DePriest lived Pisces's call to service, unity." ''Gazette
A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper.
In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspaper ...
'', March 7, 2008.
* Olasky, Martin. "History turned right side up". ''World magazine''. 13 February 2010. p. 22.
* Rudwick, Elliott M. "Oscar De Priest and the Jim Crow Restaurant in the U.S. House of Representatives". ''Journal of Negro Education'' 35 (Winter 1966): 77–82.
External links
*
Search for National Historic Landmark: Oscar De Priest House
National Park Service
The White House Historical Association
The White House Historical Association, founded in 1961 through efforts of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, is a private, non-profit organization that works to preserve the history of the White House and make that history more accessible to the p ...
* ttps://www.whitehousehistory.org/videos/video-interview-the-depriest-family-legacy "The DePriest Family Legacy" Video Interview/YouTube, White House Historical Association
* Part of his life is retold in the radio drama
Maiden Speech
, a presentation from ''Destination Freedom
''Destination Freedom'' was a weekly radio program produced by WMAQ in Chicago from 1948 to 1950 that presented biographical histories of prominent African-Americans such as George Washington Carver, Satchel Paige, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tu ...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Priest, Oscar Stanton
1871 births
1951 deaths
Politicians from Florence, Alabama
African-American members of the United States House of Representatives
African-American people in Illinois politics
Activists for African-American civil rights
American anti-lynching activists
Burials at Graceland Cemetery (Chicago)
Chicago City Council members
Politicians from Chicago
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois
Members of the Cook County Board of Commissioners
20th-century African-American people
American anti-communists
Old Right (United States)
African-American men in politics