Adam Clayton Powell Jr.(1908-1972)
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., who represented Harlem in the U.S. Congress
from 1945 through 1971, was the first modern African American
politician and the first Black Congressman to exercise real power in
the halls of Washington, D.C. He succeeded his father as the pastor of
Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church and parlayed the pulpit into a
political career. Yet, after scaling the summit of power, Powell lost
it all, seemingly fatigued by the failure of liberalism to deliver on
providing the American Dream to all Americans, regardless of color, and
tripped up by his own moral shortcomings.
Due to seniority, Powell eventually rose in Congress and in 1961,
became chairman of the Education & Labor Committee, one of the critical
committees in the House of Representatives. From this post, Powell was
instrumental in passing legislation introduced by Presidents
John F. Kennedy and his successor,
Lyndon B. Johnson, including such
watershed programs as Medicare and Medicaid. The social programs that
were part of Johnson's vision of "The Great Society" were shepherded by
Powell through his committee.
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. and Education & Labor Committee set records in
passing legislation as Johnson set out not only to equal but surpass
Roosevelt and the New Deal by enacting liberal, progressive laws to
help the common people in general and African Americans in particular.
However, L.B.J. also sowed the seeds of the cancer that would destroy
his presidency and undermine liberalism: The Vietnam War. Liberalism,
which seemed so remarkably ascendant in the period of 1964-66, would be
swamped at the polls in 1968 after suffering a setback during the
by-election of 1966. As the inner-cities burned on TV, white society
began to evince a severe backlash against African Americans.
Powell's absences from committee hearings became legion. It could be
seen as symbolic of the anomie that was afflicting the African American
community, that soon began afflicting liberalism in general, as a
philosophy and political movement. It was if liberalism set off a cycle
of violence both at home, in the ghettos, and abroad, in Vietnam.
Soon, Adam Clayton Powell seemed to lose interest. He became careless.
Earlier, as a young man, his commitment to the church had been
questioned. Some felt that he had just used the pulpit as a vehicle to
obtain social position. Likewise, Powell's commitment to social
progress began to be questioned.
In a bizarre development that showed Powell was losing his political as
well as moral judgment, he lost a slander lawsuit. The Congressman from
Harlem refused to pay the judgment against him, which made him subject
to arrest. Powell curtailed trips to New York to avoid being
incarcerated, and began spending more time in Florida and Bimini, where
he lived ostentatiously. His failure to be present in Congress for
roll-call votes became a scandal of its own. While petty corruption of
the kind practiced by Powell had long been a hallmark of Congressmen
and Senators (U.S. Senator Tom Dodd was censured in June 1967 for
misusing campaign funds) for the chairman of one of the most powerful
committees in Congress to be absent regularly could not be tolerated.
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. won his 11th bid for reelection to Congress in
1966, but when he went to take the oath of office in January 1967,
Speaker of the House refused to administer it to him. He was excluded
from the chamber, and the House Democratic Caucus ousted Powell as
chair of the Education & Labor Committee due to allegations of
corruption.
The House of Representatives refused to let him take his seat until the
completion of an investigation by a Special Committee empowered by the
Judiciary Committee. After the Select Committee reported its findings,
in March of 1967 the House voted 307 to 116 to censure Powell and
declare his seat vacant. He also was fined $40,000.
Always a fighter, Powell and 13 of his constituents filed a federal
lawsuit against the Speaker and other House officials. In his lawsuit,
Powell claimed that his expulsion was unconstitutional as the
Constitution mandated a two-thirds vote to expel a member of a
Congressional body, a bar the House had failed to meet. In the
meantime, Powell ran for his vacated seat in a special election held in
April, and won. He did not retake his seat, but continued his legal
battle through the federal courts. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June
1969, in the case of Powell v. McCormack, that the expulsion was
unconstitutional, agreeing with Powell's argument that it took a
two-thirds vote to exclude a member of Congress. Thus, Powell was able
to retake his seat, but he had lost his seniority and his political
power.
After being re-seated in Congress, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. again was
criticized for absenteeism, and in the June 1970 Democratic primary, he
was defeated by Charles Rangel. Powell
vowed to get on the ballot as an independent for the November election,
but did not. Resigning as the minister of the Abyssinian Baptist
Church, he moved to Bimini, where he lived until April 1972, when he
was hospitalized in Miami. He died on April 4, 1972 from acute
prostatitis. He was 63 years old.
from 1945 through 1971, was the first modern African American
politician and the first Black Congressman to exercise real power in
the halls of Washington, D.C. He succeeded his father as the pastor of
Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church and parlayed the pulpit into a
political career. Yet, after scaling the summit of power, Powell lost
it all, seemingly fatigued by the failure of liberalism to deliver on
providing the American Dream to all Americans, regardless of color, and
tripped up by his own moral shortcomings.
Due to seniority, Powell eventually rose in Congress and in 1961,
became chairman of the Education & Labor Committee, one of the critical
committees in the House of Representatives. From this post, Powell was
instrumental in passing legislation introduced by Presidents
John F. Kennedy and his successor,
Lyndon B. Johnson, including such
watershed programs as Medicare and Medicaid. The social programs that
were part of Johnson's vision of "The Great Society" were shepherded by
Powell through his committee.
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. and Education & Labor Committee set records in
passing legislation as Johnson set out not only to equal but surpass
Roosevelt and the New Deal by enacting liberal, progressive laws to
help the common people in general and African Americans in particular.
However, L.B.J. also sowed the seeds of the cancer that would destroy
his presidency and undermine liberalism: The Vietnam War. Liberalism,
which seemed so remarkably ascendant in the period of 1964-66, would be
swamped at the polls in 1968 after suffering a setback during the
by-election of 1966. As the inner-cities burned on TV, white society
began to evince a severe backlash against African Americans.
Powell's absences from committee hearings became legion. It could be
seen as symbolic of the anomie that was afflicting the African American
community, that soon began afflicting liberalism in general, as a
philosophy and political movement. It was if liberalism set off a cycle
of violence both at home, in the ghettos, and abroad, in Vietnam.
Soon, Adam Clayton Powell seemed to lose interest. He became careless.
Earlier, as a young man, his commitment to the church had been
questioned. Some felt that he had just used the pulpit as a vehicle to
obtain social position. Likewise, Powell's commitment to social
progress began to be questioned.
In a bizarre development that showed Powell was losing his political as
well as moral judgment, he lost a slander lawsuit. The Congressman from
Harlem refused to pay the judgment against him, which made him subject
to arrest. Powell curtailed trips to New York to avoid being
incarcerated, and began spending more time in Florida and Bimini, where
he lived ostentatiously. His failure to be present in Congress for
roll-call votes became a scandal of its own. While petty corruption of
the kind practiced by Powell had long been a hallmark of Congressmen
and Senators (U.S. Senator Tom Dodd was censured in June 1967 for
misusing campaign funds) for the chairman of one of the most powerful
committees in Congress to be absent regularly could not be tolerated.
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. won his 11th bid for reelection to Congress in
1966, but when he went to take the oath of office in January 1967,
Speaker of the House refused to administer it to him. He was excluded
from the chamber, and the House Democratic Caucus ousted Powell as
chair of the Education & Labor Committee due to allegations of
corruption.
The House of Representatives refused to let him take his seat until the
completion of an investigation by a Special Committee empowered by the
Judiciary Committee. After the Select Committee reported its findings,
in March of 1967 the House voted 307 to 116 to censure Powell and
declare his seat vacant. He also was fined $40,000.
Always a fighter, Powell and 13 of his constituents filed a federal
lawsuit against the Speaker and other House officials. In his lawsuit,
Powell claimed that his expulsion was unconstitutional as the
Constitution mandated a two-thirds vote to expel a member of a
Congressional body, a bar the House had failed to meet. In the
meantime, Powell ran for his vacated seat in a special election held in
April, and won. He did not retake his seat, but continued his legal
battle through the federal courts. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June
1969, in the case of Powell v. McCormack, that the expulsion was
unconstitutional, agreeing with Powell's argument that it took a
two-thirds vote to exclude a member of Congress. Thus, Powell was able
to retake his seat, but he had lost his seniority and his political
power.
After being re-seated in Congress, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. again was
criticized for absenteeism, and in the June 1970 Democratic primary, he
was defeated by Charles Rangel. Powell
vowed to get on the ballot as an independent for the November election,
but did not. Resigning as the minister of the Abyssinian Baptist
Church, he moved to Bimini, where he lived until April 1972, when he
was hospitalized in Miami. He died on April 4, 1972 from acute
prostatitis. He was 63 years old.