Rudolph M. Clay Sr. (July 16, 1935June 4, 2013) was an American activist and politician who was active in Indiana politics as a member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
. Clay was first active in politics with his election to the
Indiana Senate
The Indiana Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year terms ...
from the 3rd district, then served in local politics in
Lake County, Indiana
Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. In 2020, its population was 498,700, making it Indiana's second-most populous county. The county seat is Crown Point. The county is part of Northwest Indiana and the Chicago metropo ...
, and served as the 19th
Mayor of Gary, Indiana. He was the first black person elected to the state senate from Lake County and the first black person elected countywide in Lake County.
Clay was born in
Hillsboro, Alabama
Hillsboro is a town in Lawrence County, Alabama, and is included in the Decatur Metropolitan Area, as well as the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. It was incorporated in 1899.James P. Kaetz,Hillsboro" ''Encyclopedia of Alabama'', 21 ...
, and raised by his aunts following the death of his mother. He was educated at
Roosevelt High School and
Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana University and, with ...
. He 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 ...
for two years as a
Chaplain Assistant
A religious affairs specialist, previously known as chaplain assistant, is a member of the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps. This soldier provides expertise in religious support and religious support operations. The Religious Affairs Specialists, which ...
. He was active in the
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
, worked for a civil rights organization in Gary, Indiana, and was awarded by the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is an African-American civil rights organization based in Atlanta, Georgia. SCLC is closely associated with its first president, Martin Luther King Jr., who had a large role in the American civi ...
.
Clay entered electoral politics with his election to the state senate where he served one term before he was defeated in the Democratic primary by Representative
Katie Hall. Following his tenure in the state senate he served on the Lake County Council, as recorder of Lake County, and on the Lake County Commission. He survived an assassination attempt after his election to the county commission. He was elected as mayor of Gary following the resignation of Mayor
Scott L. King and served until 2012. He died in 2013.
Early life
Rudolph Clay Sr. was born in
Hillsboro, Alabama
Hillsboro is a town in Lawrence County, Alabama, and is included in the Decatur Metropolitan Area, as well as the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. It was incorporated in 1899.James P. Kaetz,Hillsboro" ''Encyclopedia of Alabama'', 21 ...
, on July 16, 1935, to Willie and Maxie Clay. Following the death of his mother he was raised by his aunts Lucy Hunter and Daisy Washington. He graduated from
Roosevelt High School in 1953, and attended
Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana University and, with ...
. He married Christine Swan, with whom he had one child, in 1957. Clay was
drafted into 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 ...
in 1959, and served until he was honorably discharged in 1961. During his service in the army he mainly worked as a
Chaplain Assistant
A religious affairs specialist, previously known as chaplain assistant, is a member of the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps. This soldier provides expertise in religious support and religious support operations. The Religious Affairs Specialists, which ...
.
Career
Civil rights
Clay was involved in the
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
and participated in marches led by Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
during the 1960s. He was award the
Operation Breadbasket
Operation Breadbasket was an organization dedicated to improving the economic conditions of black communities across the United States of America.
Operation Breadbasket was founded as a department of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference ...
Outstanding Activist Award by the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is an African-American civil rights organization based in Atlanta, Georgia. SCLC is closely associated with its first president, Martin Luther King Jr., who had a large role in the American civi ...
in 1970.
He worked as the public relations director for the United Viscounts, a civil rights organization in
Gary, Indiana
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the ...
.
Indiana Senate
Elections
Clay ran for the
Democratic nomination for a seat in the
Indiana Senate
The Indiana Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year terms ...
from the 3rd district in 1972. He won in the primary against seven other candidates and defeated
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 ...
nominee Fredrick Wood. He was the first black person to represent
Lake County, Indiana
Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. In 2020, its population was 498,700, making it Indiana's second-most populous county. The county seat is Crown Point. The county is part of Northwest Indiana and the Chicago metropo ...
in the state senate.
Clay ran for reelection to the state senate in the 1976 election, but was defeated in the Democratic primary by Representative
Katie Hall. Clay was one of four incumbent Democratic members of the state senate to lose renomination. Clay filed lawsuit for a recount, but the recount maintained Hall's victory.
Hall won in the general election without opposition.
Tenure
During his tenure Clay was the ranking minority member of the Public Health committee. He also served on the Affairs of Lake County, Legislative Apportionment, and Natural Resources, Ecology and Agriculture committees.
Clay and Representatives Jewell Harris and Robert Freeland, who were all black, boycotted a dinner at
The Columbia Club
The Columbia Club is a private club located on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. The current structure was built in 1925 as the club's third home on the same site.
Club history
The Columbia Club was originally formed on February ...
that they were invited to as the club refused membership to black people. The Indiana
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...
gave support to the boycott.
During a riot in 1973, at the
Indiana State Prison
The Indiana State Prison is a maximum security Indiana Department of Correction prison for adult males; however, minimum security housing also exists on the confines. It is located in Michigan City, Indiana, about east of Chicago. The average ...
, where prisoners took control of three cellblocks and held three officers hostage, Clay offered to work as an intermediary in the negotiations. One of the officers was let go after the prisoners talked to Clay and the riot ended after thirty-five hours. The prisoners met a delegation consisting of reporters, Clay, and Representative Robert DuComb.
Local politics
In 1978, Clay filed to run for a seat on the
Lake County, Indiana
Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. In 2020, its population was 498,700, making it Indiana's second-most populous county. The county seat is Crown Point. The county is part of Northwest Indiana and the Chicago metropo ...
council from the 4th district. He defeated incumbent Councilor Frank Perry in the Democratic primary and won in the general election without opposition.
He won reelection against Republican nominee Joseph Stojakovich in the 1982 election.
During his tenure on the council Clay served as president.
On January 6, 1984, Clay announced that he would run for the Democratic nomination for Lake County Recorder to succeed William Bielski Jr., who was term-limited. He won the Democratic nomination against ten other candidates which included Johnny McWilliams, who had the support of Gary Mayor
Richard G. Hatcher, Leonard Bielski, the brother of the incumbent recorder, and Mathias A. Kerger, a former member of the state senate. He defeated Republican nominee Alan L. Banister in the general election.
He was the first black person elected countywide in Lake County. He resigned from the county council on December 30, 1984, to become county recorder.
Clay ran for a seat on the Lake County Commission from the 1st district, defeated incumbent Commissioner N. Atterson Spann Jr. and four other candidates in the Democratic primary, and defeated Republican nominee Fredrick Congress general election.
Richard Blastick succeeded Clay as county recorder. On October 10, 1989, he announced that he would run for reelection to the county commission and won in the 1990 election.
On December 8, 1986, an assassination attempt was made against Clay when a sniper shot him three times in the shoulder and lower back after waiting outside his home. Two men were reported to have been involved in the attempted assassination. On December 12, he was sworn in on to the county commission earlier than the normal date so that Spann Jr., who would take over if Clay died, would not take over. Later an attack was made against Lake County Councilman Andrew Smith when two shotgun blasts were fired into Smith's home and Smith believed that the attack was related to the assassination attempt against Clay.
During his tenure as commissioner he was called a "traitor to the Democratic Party" by Representative Paul Hric for replacing county workers who were members of the Democratic Party with members of the Republican Party.
During the
1988 Democratic presidential primaries Clay ran as a delegate for
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 ...
despite attempts made by former Mayor Hatch and Jackson's
presidential campaign
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...
to prevent them from appearing on the ballot. Clay won election as a delegate, but the Democratic National Committee's credentials committee selected Hatcher, who was the vice-chair of Jackson's campaign, to go to the convention instead of Clay while Barnes was sent to the convention instead of the Jackson-supported Carlos Tolliver. However, another decision was made where Barnes, Clay, Hatcher, and Tolliver would all attend the convention with half-voting power.
Clay ran to serve as chair of the Gary Democratic Precinct Organization and won on March 13, 1993, after defeating incumbent chair Richard Comer, who also served as Deputy Mayor.
Death and legacy
Clay died on June 4, 2013, in Gary.
In 2014, a section of
U.S. Route 20
U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. S ...
that went through Gary was renamed in honor of Clay.
Political positions
Clay called for 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 ...
to
impeach
Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements.
In ...
President
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
in 1974.
Clay wrote a letter to President
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
informing him of his opposition to Ford's raising food stamp prices and he introduced a resolution in the state senate calling for Congress to reject Ford's proposed increase.
Amendments
The state senate voted thirty-four to sixteen, with Clay in favor, against ratifying the
Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. Proponents assert it would end legal distinctions between men and ...
in 1973. In 1975, Clay introduced a resolution in the state senate calling for the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
to pass an amendment to the
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...
to make the president elected through the popular vote instead of through the electoral college.
Crime and legal
The state senate voted forty to nine, with Clay against, in favor of maintaining the death penalty. In 1973, the state senate voted thirty-one to eighteen, with Clay against, in favor of legislation to allow local, county, and state police access to certain types of wire taps. Clay asked for George Phend, the Superintendent of Indiana State Reformatory, to allow prisoners to kiss their wives citing results from the policy at the prison in
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...
where it helped rehabilitation and lowered homosexuality. Clay opposed a resolution by Senator Marlin McDaniel which would have the state legislature be put on record as opposing amnesty for people involved in prison disturbances. Superintendent Robert L. DeBard promised to Clay that forty more minorities would be admitted to the state police.
Civil rights
Clay opposed
desegregation busing
Race-integration busing in the United States (also known simply as busing, Integrated busing or by its critics as forced busing) was the practice of assigning and student transport, transporting students to schools within or outside their local s ...
. Clay introduced legislation to
recognize a state
holiday
A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tra ...
in honor of
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
in 1974.
Electoral history
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clay, Rudolph
1935 births
2013 deaths
African-American male actors
African-American mayors in Indiana
African-American people in Indiana politics
American male actors
County commissioners in Indiana
Democratic Party Indiana state senators
Mayors of Gary, Indiana
Military personnel from Indiana
Deaths from cancer in Indiana
Deaths from prostate cancer
People from Lawrence County, Alabama
United States Army soldiers
20th-century African-American politicians
African-American men in politics
21st-century African-American politicians
20th-century American politicians
21st-century American politicians