John Adams Sr. (February 2, 1876 – April 21, 1962) was an American minister, lawyer, and politician and a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. He was born in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, was a lawyer and minister in

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

, and

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

before settling in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

. While in South Carolina he took a civil rights case to the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

where he lost. He was the only black member of the Nebraska unicameral for much of his tenure from 1949–1962. He was an ordained minister and at the time of his death was presiding elder of the

African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Black church, predominantly African American Methodist Religious denomination, denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, c ...

(AME). As a legislator, he was an outspoken champion of

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 of ...

and fought for fair employment practices and pensions for retired teachers."State Senator Adams Dies"; ''Omaha World Herald''; April 21, 1962, p. 16

Life

Adams was born February 2, 1876, in Atlanta, Georgia, to the John and Belle Adams. On September 16, 1902 he married Hattie Edith Bowman daughter of John and Melissa Bowman in

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is the ...

. He attended high school in Atlanta public schools and attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania,

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

Gammon Theological Seminary The Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) is a consortium of five predominantly African-American denominational Christian seminaries in Atlanta, Georgia, operating together as a professional graduate school of theology. It is the largest f ...

, and received a Masters of Arts from AME affiliated Campbell College in

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. He had three sons, John, Harold S. and Ralph W. John Jr. and Ralph joined John Sr. as partners in a law practice in the 1930s. Adams died of a heart attack on the morning of Saturday, April 22, 1962. The Governor and many members of the state legislature attended his funeral.

Career

While not formally trained as a lawyer, Adams was first admitted to the bar in South Carolina during the early 1900s. He practiced law in

Orangeburg, South Carolina Orangeburg, also known as ''The Garden City'', is the principal city in and the county seat of Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population of the city was 13,964 according to the 2010 United States Census and declined to 12 ...

in a firm with Jacob Moorer, who was also black. In 1908, Moorer and Adams served as counsel for African American

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Pink Franklin who killed a white

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who had come to arrest him, arguing that the act was in self-defense as Pink and his wife, Patsy, were both wounded and claimed the officer fired first. In a tense racial environment, Franklin was found guilty and sentenced to death by an all-white jury. Moorer and Adams appealed, challenging the racial composition of the

grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...

and

petit jury In common law, a petit jury (or trial jury) hears the evidence in a trial as presented by both the plaintiff (petitioner) and the defendant (respondent). After hearing the evidence and often jury instructions from the judge, the group retires for ...

as well as the constitutionality of South Carolina's 1895 Constitution. They lost in state courts and appealed to the

where they again lost in '' Franklin v. South Carolina''. The case received national attention and finally in 1919, Franklin sentence was commuted and he was released on

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

due to the continued efforts of Moorer and Adams, but also the efforts of

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...

Oswald Garrison Villard Oswald Garrison Villard (March 13, 1872 – October 1, 1949) was an American journalist and editor of the ''New York Evening Post.'' He was a civil rights activist, and along with his mother, Fanny Villard, a founding member of the NAACP. I ...

Joel Elias Spingarn Joel Elias Spingarn (May 17, 1875 – July 26, 1939) was an American educator, literary critic, civil rights activist, military intelligence officer, and horticulturalist. Biography Spingarn was born in New York City to an upper middle-class ...

Frances Blascoer Frances Blascoer was the NAACP's first Executive Secretary. She served in 1910–1911. Frances Helen Blascoer (1873-1938) born to Samuel and Julia Blascoer in Marshall, Wisconsin. She lived in China from 1917 to 1922 and later was an antique deal ...

, Bernard Hagood, and Claude SawyerHine, William C. Pink Franklin: NAACP's first legal case, The Times and Democrat, Orangeburg, SC, May 18, 2014 That occasion marked the second time black lawyers had appeared before the Supreme Court. Adams left South Carolina after that case and moved to Washington State and then to

Pueblo, Colorado Pueblo () is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Pueblo County, Colorado, Pueblo County, Colorado ...

where he continued to practice law. After moving to Omaha and was admitted to the Nebraska bar on motion in 1922. Adams also served as president of Daniel Payne University at

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

in 1935 where he served for four years. Adams' son, John Adams Jr. was a Nebraska State Legislator from 1935–1941. In 1942, John Jr. lost in an election against dentist Dr. Harry A Foster. In 1944, while Adams Jr. was serving in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Adams Sr. decided to run for that seat, in Nebraska's fifth district, losing to Foster. Adams Sr. lost again in a

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in 1946. In 1948, Adams Sr. won, winning again against Foster in every election until 1962."Adams's Death Ended Long Rivalry"; ''Omaha World Herald''; April 22, 1962; p. 33 As a legislator, he was an outspoken champion of civil rights and fought for fair employment practices and pensions for retired teachers. He also was known for his opposition to gambling and vehemently opposed the legalization of bingo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams Sr., John 1876 births Republican Party Nebraska state senators Politicians from Atlanta American civil rights lawyers African Methodist Episcopal Church clergy 1962 deaths African-American state legislators in Nebraska