Christopher John England (born August 19, 1976) is an American politician and the former chair of the

Alabama Democratic Party The Alabama Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Alabama. It is chaired by Randy Kelley. The Alabama Democratic Party was once one of the most successful political organizations in the United States. Even af ...

. He serves in the

Alabama House of Representatives The Alabama State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal number of districts, with each constituency contai ...

. England was the first black chairman of either major political party in the history of the state of Alabama.

Early life and education

England was born on August 19, 1976. His father, John H. England Jr., is a former judge of the 6th Circuit Court in Alabama, former Tuscaloosa City Council member, and served as a justice on the Alabama Supreme Court from 1999 to 2000. England received his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

and his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

. He is a member of the

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 and has served on the board of directors of the Police Athletic League and PRIDE.

Career

England is a member of the

, representing the 70th District unopposed since 2006. In December 2018, England was elected caucus chair of the House Democratic Caucus. England also serves as Associate City Attorney in the City of Tuscaloosa, handling Claims, Franchise Agreements, and Tax Issues.

Voting Rights Act

In 2023, the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

ruled Alabama violated the

Voting Rights Act The suffrage, Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of Federal government of the United States, federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President of the United ...

with discriminatory congressional districts that disproportionately enfranchised White voters over Black voters. England voted in dissent of the discriminatory districts and condemned the

for letting the "dead bury the living" with the specter of racism, receiving national media attention.

References

1976 births 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century American legislators African-American state legislators in Alabama Alabama Democratic Party chairs Democratic Party members of the Alabama House of Representatives Living people Politicians from Tuscaloosa, Alabama {{Alabama-politician-stub