U.S. Representative

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Article

Ballance, Frank Winston, Jr.  

Adam W. Green

Article

Publication History:

Published in print:
15 March 2013
Published online:
31 May 2013

United Statescongressman, was the third child born to Frank Winston Ballance, a sharecropper, and Alice Eason Ballance, a homemaker and care worker. Ballance was born and raised on a farm in Windsor, eastern North Carolina, part of the rural tobacco farming communities of the impoverished and segregated Bertie County. Ballance learned at an early age the import of fighting for civil rights; his mother was heavily involved in black voter registration drives when he was a child. After graduating W.S. Etheridge High School in 1959, he moved to attend North Carolina Central University in Durham.

In college, Ballance became involved in marches and sit-ins in the city, including ones aimed at larger department stores like Woolworth's. After receiving his B.A. in 1963, he remained at the university to study law. In 1965 he taught law at South Carolina State College but the following ...

Article

Bishop, Sanford Dixon, Jr.  

Adam W. Green

Article

Publication History:

Published in print:
15 March 2013
Published online:
31 May 2013

politician, was born in Mobile, Alabama, to Sanford Dixon Bishop, an educational administrator and first president of Bishop State Community College, and Minnie Bethany Slade Bishop, a librarian. When he was seven years old, the family moved to Toulminville, a transitional neighborhood in Mobile for poor and working-class whites, where a black subdivision had been built. The Deep South's segregation and hostility were not foreign to Bishop growing up: The Ku Klux Klan had been active with cross-burnings in the district, and the new black community began a neighborhood watch. As a youth, Bishop was heavily involved with the Boy Scouts, later becoming an Eagle Scout and member of the Order of the Arrow, the Scouts' honor society.

Bishop s schools Booker T Washington Junior High for blacks and Central High School for whites were segregated and the second hand textbooks and supplements were not ideal for the son ...

Article

Brown, Corrine  

Monika R. Alston

Article

Publication History:

Published in print:
15 March 2013
Published online:
31 May 2013

U.S. congresswoman, was born in Jacksonville, Florida, where she lived from childhood through her high school years. Brown has not made much information about her early years, her parents, or her personal life known. In 1965 she gave birth to her only daughter, Shantrel, the same year she began college. Brown received a BS in 1969 and a master's degree in Education in 1971 from Florida A&M University. She earned an education specialist degree from the University of Florida in 1974. From 1977 to 1982 Brown worked as a faculty member and guidance counselor at Florida Community College in Jacksonville.As a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. at Florida A&M, Brown became close friends with her sorority sister Gwendolyn Sawyer-Cherry, who was the first African American woman to serve in the Florida state legislature. Sawyer-Cherry influenced Brown to enter politics and after Brown lost her ...

Article

Brown, Corrine  

Article

Publication History:

Published in print:
07 April 2005
Published online:
01 December 2006

Corrine Brown was born in Jacksonville, Florida. She received a bachelor's degree in 1969 and a master's degree in 1971 from Florida A&M University. She also received an education specialist degree from the University of Florida in 1974 and an honorary doctorate in law from Edward Waters College. Brown was a college professor, a guidance counselor, and owner of a travel agency before entering politics. In 1982 she was elected to the Florida State House of Representatives, where she served for ten years. In 1992 she was elected to Congress from Florida's Third Congressional District. She was reelected to a sixth term in 2002. In Congress, Brown has worked on economic development, transportation policies, veterans' affairs, environmental policies, and issues of importance to working families. Brown is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Article

Brown, Corrine  

Rozalynn S. Frazier

Article

Publication History:

Published in print:
19 May 2005
Published online:
01 December 2006

A native of Jacksonville, Florida, Corrine Brown was born to the West Palm Beach native Voney Brown and Delia Covington, a cosmetologist from Georgia. The only child of this union, Brown was essentially raised by her mother and stepfather, William Covington, an Alabama native who served in the U.S. Navy.

Brown graduated from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in Tallahassee with a bachelor of science degree in Sociology in 1969. She also obtained her master’s degree in 1971 from Florida A&M University. In 1974, Brown earned her education specialist degree from the University of Florida in Gainesville. In addition to her chosen studies, Brown received an honorary doctor of law degree from Edward Waters College in Jacksonville. Now divorced, Brown is the mother of daughter Shantrel Brown, an attorney for the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, DC.

Before election to her first political office Brown ...

Article

Burke, Yvonne Brathwaite  

Melina Abdullah

Article

Publication History:

Published in print:
15 March 2013
Published online:
31 May 2013

politician and attorney, was born Perle Yvonne Watson, the only child to James Watson, a janitor, and Lola (maiden name unknown), a real estate broker, in Los Angeles, California. Her parents migrated to Los Angeles in 1921 from Paris, Texas, where her father had been a farmer and her mother worked as a teacher. Difficulties in Texas caused her parents to move west. Upon arrival in California her father took up work as a janitor for Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) Studios and later became a labor organizer. Her mother left her teaching career to become a real estate broker.

Throughout her life Burke was exposed to art, drama, and music, developing a deep appreciation for culture. It was her father's work as a labor organizer, however, that helped to politicize her. James Watson was a charter member of the Building Service Employees International Union later the Service ...

Article

Burke, Yvonne Brathwaite  

Lisa Clayton Robinson

Article

Publication History:

Published in print:
07 April 2005
Published online:
01 December 2006

“I visualize a time within the next ten years when we should have fifty black congressmen … It's just a matter of time until we have a black governor and yes, a black president.” In this 1974Ebony magazine interview, Congresswoman Yvonne Braithwaite Burke outlined her hopes for the political future of African Americans—a future her own career helped bring closer to reality. Born Yvonne Watson in South Central Los Angeles, Burke attended the University of California at Berkeley and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). After graduating from the University of Southern California Law School in 1956, she began a private law practice, and was appointed to the 1965 commission that investigated the Watts Riot of 1965.

A year later Burke was elected to the first of three terms in the California assembly becoming the state s first black assemblywoman In the state assembly ...

Article

Butterfield, G. K.  

Jason Philip Miller

Article

Publication History:

Published in print:
15 March 2013
Published online:
31 May 2013

politician, was born George Kenneth Butterfield in Wilson, North Carolina, to Addie Davis, a schoolteacher, and George Kenneth Butterfield Sr., a dentist. The family was prominent in the local African American community, and Butterfield's father was the first African American in the twentieth century to hold a seat on the Wilson city council.

Butterfield attended local schools, including Charles H. Darden High School, from which he graduated in 1967. He matriculated to North Carolina Central University in Durham, pursuing bachelors degrees in sociology and political science, in the meantime serving in the U.S. Army for two years. Butterfield graduated from N.C. Central in 1971. He remained at that institution to earn his JD in 1974, after which he embarked on a career in law.

Following graduation Butterfield returned to Wilson and there maintained a private law practice through which he gained a reputation for ...

Article

Carson, André  

Dorsia Smith Silva

Article

Publication History:

Published online:
31 January 2018

the son of Tanya Carson. He was raised by his maternal grandmother, Julia Carson, because his father did not want to be involved in his life and his mother suffered from schizophrenia. André grew up in a political household: his grandmother Julia served in the Indiana House of Representatives from 1972 to 1976 and the Indiana Senate from 1976 to 1990. She was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for Indiana’s 10th District, covering Indianapolis, in 1997. After redistricting in 2003 she represented Indiana’s 7th district, which included much of her old seat.

While attending Arsenal Technical High School in his native city, André developed an interest in law enforcement. Carson continued studying this field by obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice management from Concordia University Wisconsin in 2003 Two years later he obtained a Master s degree in Business Management from Indiana ...

Article

Carson, Julia  

Article

Publication History:

Published in print:
07 April 2005
Published online:
01 December 2006

Julia Carson was born in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1965, while working as a secretary for the United Auto Workers union, Carson was hired by Indiana congressman Andrew Jacobs Jr. She worked on his staff for eight years. In 1972 she was elected to the Indiana House of Representatives, and in 1976 she was elected to the Indiana Senate, where she served on the Finance Committee and the Health Committee. In 1990 Carson was elected trustee of Center Township and directed an agency that provided assistance to the needy. Congressman Jacobs retired in 1996, and Carson ran for his position. She won fifty-two percent of the vote and became the first African American to represent Indianapolis.

Representing Indiana's Tenth Congressional District since 1997, Carson has written legislation on consumer protections and gun control, and sponsored the National Defense Rail Act. In 1999President Clinton signed her ...

Article

Carson, Julia May Porter  

Rose Pelone Sisson

Article

Publication History:

Published in print:
15 March 2013
Published online:
31 May 2013

U.S. congresswoman, was born Julia May Porter in Louisville, Kentucky, to Velma Porter, a maid, and Clifford McGuire. In 1939 Velma and Julia moved to Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1955 Carson graduated from Crispus Attucks High School in Indianapolis. She attended Indiana Central Business College and went on to complete three years of college over her lifetime. She attended Indiana University–Purdue University from 1970 to 1972, St. Mary of the Woods College from 1976 to 1978, and Martin University in Indianapolis from 1994 to 1995.

As a youth Carson delivered newspapers, waited tables, and did summer farm labor to earn money. After high school she was a secretary, working for the United Auto Workers Local #550 until 1965. She married Sammy Carson, a laborer, in 1956. She sought a divorce that was granted in 1963 and was given custody of her two ...

Article

Cheatham, Henry Plummer  

Leonard Schlup

Article

Publication History:

Published in print:
07 April 2005
Published online:
01 December 2006

Henry Plummer Cheatham was born near Henderson, Granville (now Vance) County, North Carolina, the son of a house slave about whom little is known. He attended local public schools and worked on farms during the 1860s and 1870s before graduating with honors from Shaw University in 1882. He became principal of the Plymouth Normal School for Negroes, a state-supported institution, and held this position from 1882 until 1884. He returned to Henderson and, after the retirement of the white Republican incumbent, won election as Vance County registrar of deeds, serving in this capacity from 1885 to 1888. During this time he also studied law, though he never established a practice.

Cheatham's career in national politics began in 1888. Unable to agree on a single candidate, delegates to the Republican convention for the Second Congressional District, the so-called “Black Second,” nominated both Cheatham and George A Mebane ...

Article

Cheatham, Henry Plummer  

Leonard Schlup

Article

Publication History:

Published in print:
15 March 2013
Published online:
31 May 2013

congressman and public official, was born near Henderson, Granville (later Vance) County, North Carolina. All that is known of his parents is that one was a house slave. He attended local public schools and worked on farms during the 1860s and 1870s before graduating with honors from Shaw University in 1882. He became principal of the Plymouth Normal School for Negroes, a state-supported institution, and held this position from 1882 until 1884. He returned to Henderson and, after the retirement of the white Republican incumbent, won election as Vance County registrar of deeds, serving in this capacity from 1885 to 1888. During this time he also studied law, though he never established a practice.

Cheatham's career in national politics began in 1888 Unable to agree on a single candidate delegates to the Republican convention for the Second Congressional District the so called Black Second nominated both ...

Article

Chisholm, Shirley  

Roanne Edwards

Article

Publication History:

Published in print:
07 April 2005
Published online:
01 December 2006

Known for her integrity and her powerful oratory skills, Shirley Chisholm is widely considered one of the foremost female speakers in the United States. With a character that she has described as “unbought and unbossed,” Chisholm became known as a politician who refused to allow fellow politicians, including the male-dominated Congressional Black Caucus, to deter her from her goals. In 1969 her first statement as a congressperson before the United States House of Representatives reflected her commitment to prioritizing the needs of the disadvantaged especially children She proclaimed her intent to vote No on every money bill that comes to the floor of this House that provides any funds for the Department of Defense While Chisholm advocated for civil rights for African Americans she regularly took up issues that concerned other people of color such as Native Americans and Spanish speaking migrants She also delivered important speeches on ...

Article

Chisholm, Shirley  

Daniel A. Dalrymple

Article

Publication History:

Published in print:
19 May 2005
Published online:
01 December 2006

Chisholm made a career out of breaking down barriers. She was both the first black woman to be elected to United States Congress and the first woman or African American to mount a serious run at a major party’s nomination for president. Chisholm forged a strong reputation for doing things her own way, spurning both the New York Democratic political machine and political decorum. Despite the obstacles that came with bucking the system, Chisholm always held her ground on important issues such as abortion, women’s rights, and civil rights.

Chisholm was born the eldest of three sisters to West Indian parents, Charles St. Hill and Ruby Seale in the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn New York Shirley s father worked as a baker s helper and later a factory hand and her mother found employment as a seamstress However Hill and Seale quickly realized that their wages were insufficient ...

Article

Chisholm, Shirley  

Julie Gallagher

Article

Publication History:

Published in print:
09 February 2009
Published online:
01 December 2009

politician, women's rights advocate, and educator. Chisholm was born Shirley Anita St. Hill in Brooklyn, New York, to Charles St. Hill and Ruby Seale, immigrants from the Caribbean island of Barbados. During the Depression, Chisholm and her two younger sisters were sent to live with their grandmother in Barbados. They stayed there for seven years. Chisholm claimed that her sense of pride in herself and her race came largely from her father, an ardent follower of Marcus Garvey.

Chisholm attended Brooklyn College from 1942 to 1946, where she developed her oratorical skills in the Debate Society. At the same time, her membership in the Harriet Tubman Society and the Political Science Society stimulated her racial and political consciousness. Her leadership skills attracted attention, and one of her professors suggested that she consider entering politics.

Chisholm's career in early childhood education spanned nearly two decades. Between 1946 ...

Article

Chisholm, Shirley  

Patricia E. Canson

Article

Publication History:

Published in print:
15 March 2013
Published online:
31 May 2013

U.S. congresswoman, was born Shirley St. Hill in Brooklyn, New York, the eldest daughter of Charles St. Hill, a laborer born in British Guiana (now Guyana), and Ruby Seale, a seamstress born in Barbados. Shirley's first three years were spent in Brownsville, a predominantly Jewish area of Brooklyn. Finding the wages for unskilled factory work insufficient to care for three children properly, the St. Hills sent their three daughters to Barbados, where they lived with their maternal grandparents on the family farm. Shirley credits her grandmother Emily Seale with instilling in her a strong character and determination.

The girls returned to Brownsville in 1934 after their mother gave birth to another daughter Despite the social and financial hardships of the Depression Ruby encouraged her children to respect the values of civility thrift poise humility education and spirituality though the sisters endured a substantial amount of teasing in the ...

Article

Christian-Christensen, Donna  

Article

Publication History:

Published in print:
07 April 2005
Published online:
01 December 2006

Donna Christian-Christensen, who was formerly known while in office as Donna Christian-Green, comes from a family of public servants. Her father, Almeric L. Christian, was a Virgin Islands chief district court judge, and her paternal grandmother, Elena L. Christian, was an educator in the Virgin Islands. Christian-Christensen graduated with a bachelor's degree from St. Mary's College in Indiana and earned a medical degree at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. After a medical career of more than twenty years, she entered politics as vice chairperson of the U.S. Virgin Islands Democratic Territorial Committee in 1980. She subsequently served on the U.S. Virgin Islands Board of Education and the U.S. Virgin Islands Status Commission. In 1996 Christian-Christensen became the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from the U.S. Virgin Islands. She was reelected in subsequent elections.

Article

Christian-Christensen, Donna M.  

Dorsia Smith Silva

Article

Publication History:

Published in print:
15 March 2013
Published online:
31 May 2013

physician, politician, and delegate to the U.S. Congress, was born Donna Marie Christian in Teaneck, New Jersey, to Virginia Sterling Christian and retired Chief District Court Judge Almeric L. Christian, from St. Croix. Christian-Christensen's parents wanted their daughter to understand her cultural connections to the Virgin Islands, so she spent part of her adolescence in St. Croix. This time in St. Croix had a profound influence on Christian-Christensen's career and commitment to helping others.

Christian-Christensen returned to the United States to graduate from St. Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana, where she earned a B.S. degree in 1966. After reading a United Negro College Fund booklet about the lack of minorities in health care, she decided to enter the medical field. She attended George Washington University Medical School and earned an M.D. degree in 1970. From 1970 to 1971 Christian Christensen worked an as ...

Article

Clarke, Yvette Diane  

Adam W. Green

Article

Publication History:

Published in print:
15 March 2013
Published online:
31 May 2013

member of the United States Congress, was born Yvette Diane Clarke in Brooklyn, New York, to the Jamaican immigrants Leslie Clarke, an engineer and architect, and Dr. Una S. T. Clarke, a daycare administrator and City Councilwoman. Born and raised in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, Clarke graduated with honors from Edward R. Murrow High School in 1982 and earned a scholarship to Oberlin College in Ohio.

While in college, Clarke studied public policy and political science, and won an internship in 1983 with Major R. Owens, her local congressman. Moving back to New York in 1987, Clarke worked as a child-care specialist and as legislative aide to various elected city officials before becoming director of business development at the Bronx Overall Development Corporation.

By then the Clarke family had already made a foray into politics Una Clarke became the first Caribbean born woman to ...