Adam Clayton Powell Jr. (1908-1972) was the outspoken son of Harlem who made his mark in the U.S. House of Representatives. He became one of America’s most powerful Black politicians in his 12 terms in Congress and succeeded in getting civil rights legislation passed. Though the final decade of his life was steeped in controversy, he had a major impact on Black communities in Harlem and across the country. These are 10 things to know about the congressman.
Adam Clayton Powell Sr. was the pastor of the famous Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. His leadership of the congregation through the early 20th century made him one of the most powerful men in Harlem. In 1937, Powell Jr. inherited the congregation from his father and continued its legacy of social and political action.
As a white-passing African American, Powell Jr. uniquely navigated race relations in his early years. He was paid extra to be the bellboy for Abraham Lincoln’s only surviving son, Robert Todd Lincoln, who disliked Black people and thought he was white. His fair skin made it easy for him to avoid racial barriers at Colgate University. However, his commitment to his Blackness in his political career made him popular in his community.
Powell Jr. started his political career on the ground in Harlem. In the 1930s, he led boycotts and picketing campaigns for jobs and housing. His charisma combined with his action forced Harlem Hospital and the 1939 World’s Fair to hire or promote Black workers.
In 1941, he became the first Black person elected to New York’s city council. Three years later, he ran unopposed for New York’s seat in the House of Representatives, the first Black congressman to represent the state.
Rep. Powell arrived at Washington determined to deliver on his platform of civil rights. He became known for his Powell amendment, a rider attached to every bill that blocked federal funding for states that practiced segregation. He challenged individual members of Congress that used the n-word, held both parties accountable for their failure to legislate civil rights, and took the integration of capitol facilities into his own hands.
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Adam Clayton Powell Jr. was not popular among some of his colleagues, especially not among Southern Democrats. Mississippi Rep. John E. Rankin was one of his fiercest rivals. After finding out that Rankin would not sit near him, Powell took every opportunity to agitate the segregationist by sitting close to him.
In 1961, Powell became chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor. Under his leadership, the committee passed more than 50 pieces of legislation. In 1964, the Powell amendment was signed into law in the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Powell used his platform to draw U.S. attention to the struggles of people in Africa and Asia. He called for his colleagues to stand against colonialism and celebrated the independence of nations in the formerly colonized world.
In 1960, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. planned a demonstration at the Democratic National Convention. Fearing embarrassment, Powell threatened to accuse King of being in a homosexual relationship with his friend and advisor Bayard Rustin.
The last years of Powell’s career came with much controversy. Colleagues criticized him for mismanaging government funds and living an erratic lifestyle. In 1963, he refused to pay damages in a libel case he lost and was effectively exiled from Harlem as a result. In 1967, the House voted to exclude him from Congress due to his conduct, a decision ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court two years later. Powell was reelected in 1968 and reinstated without seniority. In 1970 he lost the Democratic nomination to Harlem–based New York State Assemblyman Charlie Rangel.
