Samuel J. Smith (July 23, 1922 – November 16, 1995) was a member of the

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

and the

Seattle City Council The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-lar ...

. He was the first African-American to serve as a Seattle city councilman.

Early life

Smith was born on July 23, 1922, in

Gibsland, Louisiana Gibsland is a town in Bienville Parish in northern Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 773. The town is best known for its connecting railroads, as the birthplace of the defunct historically black Coleman College, ...

to a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

minister. Smith served stateside in the

U.S. 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 ...

during World War II; in 1942 he was stationed in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

and, on discharge, decided to stay there. He went on to receive degrees from

Seattle University Seattle University (SeattleU) is a private Jesuit university in Seattle, Washington. Seattle University is the largest independent university in the Northwestern United States, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate prog ...

(Social science, 1951) and the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

(Economics, 1952) and went to work for the

Boeing Company The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...

Political career

In 1958, Smith 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 ...

Charles Stokes for a seat in the

representing

Washington's 37th legislative district Washington's 37th legislative district is one of forty-nine districts in Washington state for representation in the state legislature. The district encompasses Beacon Hill, Central District, Rainier Valley, Columbia City, Rainier Beach, and ...

. Smith's victory over Stokes, the third African-American elected to the Washington legislature, made him just the fourth African-American to win a seat in the state house, as well as the second from 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 ...

. One of his first acts in the legislature was to introduce a bill that would have banned discrimination based on race or religion in the rental or sale of homes. The measure eventually passed in his final term. Smith was reelected to three additional terms, serving in the legislature until January 1967 when he left to seek a seat on the Seattle City Council, which he won. Smith continued to serve on the council until 1991 when he was defeated for reelection due, in part, to mobilization of Seattle's

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

community, who were upset with some of his socially conservative positions. Smith served as president of the city council for eight years and ran unsuccessfully for

Mayor of Seattle The Mayor of Seattle is the head of the executive branch of the city government of Seattle, Washington. The mayor is authorized by the city charter to enforce laws enacted by the Seattle City Council, as well as direct subordinate officers in ci ...

four times during his council tenure.

Personal life and death

Smith's wife, Marion King Smith, campaigned for Smith's former seat in the legislature in 1970, but was defeated by Republican Michael Ross. Smith would later attribute Ross' victory over his wife to a defection of Smith's traditional allies among the district's black leaders who were "afraid that the power in the black community was too centered on me. They knew I would be helping her

arion Arion (; grc-gre, Ἀρίων; fl. c. 700 BC) was a kitharode in ancient Greece, a Dionysiac poet credited with inventing the dithyramb. The islanders of Lesbos claimed him as their native son, but Arion found a patron in Periander, tyrant ...

make decisions, and they didn't want me to have that kind of reach." Smith suffered from ill health in his later years and lost a leg to

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

in 1985. He died at his home in the Seward Park neighborhood of Seattle on November 16, 1995, at the age of 73. A park in Seattle is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Sam 1922 births 1995 deaths African-American state legislators in Washington (state) Democratic Party members of the Washington House of Representatives People from Gibsland, Louisiana Seattle City Council members Seattle University alumni University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences alumni 20th-century American politicians African-American city council members in Washington (state) 20th-century African-American politicians United States Army personnel of World War II

Early life

Political career

Personal life and death

See also

References