![]() “It is largely an honorary committee,” Allgood explained, “and, so far as I am concerned, all honor departed from it when De Priest was made a member.” 29 In December 1928, before De Priest was even sworn in as a Member of the House, third-term Representative Miles Clayton Allgood of Georgia resigned his seat on the House Committee on Enrolled Bills when he learned that De Priest had been assigned to that panel. Southern lawmakers reacted to De Priest’s election with disdain. ![]() His speech, which filled more than four pages in the Congressional Record, insisted upon civil and political rights for African Americans. (29 January 1901) On January 29, 1901, George Henry White of North Carolina gave his valedictory address as the sole Black Member of the 56th Congress (1899–1901), promising the return of African Americans to Congress. ![]() tiles/non-collection/B/BAIC22-Essay2_08_White_speech_cong_record.xml Congressional Record, House, 56th Cong., 2nd sess. He navigated a world in which his voters actively questioned his party’s handling of the economy, and his Black constituents, in particular, began to leave the Republican Party in response to the New Deal policies of Democratic President Franklin D. During his three terms in office, De Priest represented a district facing economic upheaval and undergoing a political transformation. Taking office in 1929, De Priest’s first term coincided with the stock market collapse and the onset of the Great Depression, which had devastating effects on his Chicago constituents. Prejudice has got to be broken down in this country and I’ve got to help do it.” 28 “It’s a long, hard fight down there,” he acknowledged, “and I appreciate the fact the eyes of America are centered upon me. Six months before his election, the Chicago Defender hailed the candidate as the “fulfillment of White’s prophecy.” African Americans across the countryĬelebrated De Priest’s victory, and he recognized his responsibility to act as a voice for Black Americans beyond his district, especially those still residing in the South. Oscar De Priest arrived on Capitol Hill 28 years later. ![]() In his last speech on the House Floor, in 1901, George Henry White of North Carolina-the final Black lawmaker elected in the nineteenth century-had predicted the return of Black Members to Congress. ![]()
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