Walton Bryan Stewart (April 20, 1914May 10, 1976) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

teacher, machinist, labor activist, and Democratic politician. He served one term in the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

, representing part of the north side of the city of

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

Early life and career

Stewart was born in

Henderson, Tennessee Henderson is a city in and the county seat of Chester County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 6,309 at the 2010 census, up from 5,670 at the 2000 census. History Henderson was platted in 1857, when the railroad was extended to tha ...

. He graduated from

Lane College Lane College is a private historically black college associated with the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church and located in Jackson, Tennessee. It offers associate and baccalaureate degrees in the arts and sciences. History Lane College was ...

, and became a teacher in Henderson, eventually serving as principal of

Chester County Training School Chester County Training School, the first high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower s ...

. In 1944, he moved to

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, where he became active in the labor movement and in the Democratic Party.

Politics

Stewart, active in the

labor movement The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...

, was chairman for several years of the 6th

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

Democratic Party, and was elected a delegate at large to the

1952 Democratic National Convention The 1952 Democratic National Convention was held at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois from July 21 to July 26, 1952, which was the same arena the Republicans had gathered in a few weeks earlier for their national convention fro ...

. He was elected to the

Wisconsin House of Representatives The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, e ...

in 1954 to represent the newly-redistricted 2nd

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, and the 45th most populous coun ...

district (now consisting of the 2nd Ward of the City of Milwaukee); fellow Democrat

Michael F. O'Connell Michael F. O'Connell (1877, Tipperary, Ireland - was a politician and first elected at the age of 61 to the Wisconsin State Assembly. He was repeatedly re-elected until 1958, when he was defeated in the Democratic primary race. He had immigrated ...

, whose district had included what was now the 2nd District, was not a candidate for re-election. He won the September 1954 Democratic

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

with 983 votes to 829 for former Assemblyman Le Roy Simmons and the November

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

with 3,851 votes to 1,230 for

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 ...

George Wolfgram and 29 for independent Albert Stergar. He was assigned to the

standing committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

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. In the 1956 primary, he lost the Democratic nomination to Norman Sussman, with 1,028 votes to Sussman's 1,082. He ran in the general election as an "Independent Democrat", but came in third, with 1,030 votes to Sussman's 3,879 and Republican Paul Urban's 1,406.

Later life

Walton was the only African-American member of the Milwaukee Motion Picture Commission in its last years (it was abolished in 1971). He continued to work as a teacher and was head of the mathematics department at Roosevelt Junior High School in Milwaukee. He died on May 10, 1976.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Walton People from Henderson, Tennessee Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Lane College alumni 1914 births 1976 deaths 20th-century American legislators African-American state legislators in Wisconsin 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century Wisconsin politicians