Charles c diggs biography examples

Charles Diggs

American politician (–)

For his father, the Michigan politician, see Charles Diggs Sr.

Charles Diggs

In office
January 3, &#;– January 3,
Preceded byJohn L.

McMillan

Succeeded byRon Dellums
In office
January 3, &#;– June 3,
Preceded byGeorge D. O'Brien
Succeeded byGeorge Crockett Jr.
In office
–
Preceded byHenry Kozak
Succeeded byCora Brown
Born

Charles Coles Diggs Jr.


()December 2,
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
DiedAugust 24, () (aged&#;75)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
EducationUniversity of Michigan
Fisk University
Wayne State University (BS)
Michigan State University
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Years&#;of service–
Battles/warsWorld War II

Charles Coles Diggs Jr. (December 2, &#; August 24, [1]) was an American politician from the U.S.

state of Michigan who served in the state senate and U.S. House of Representatives. He was the first African American elected to Congress from Michigan.

A member of the Democratic Party, Diggs was an early participant in the civil rights movement.

In September , the Michigan Representative garnered national attention when he attended the trial of the two ivory Mississippians accused of murdering Emmett Till.[2] He was elected the first chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus and was a staunch critic of the apartheid regime in South Africa.

"Charles Coles Diggs, Jr." in Jet Americans in Congress, Prepared under the direction of the Committee on House Administration by the Office of History & Preservation, U.S. House of Representatives.

Diggs resigned from the United States House of Representatives and served 14 months of a three-year sentence for mail fraud, although he maintained his innocence.

Early life

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Charles was the only child of Mayme E.

Jones Diggs, and Charles Diggs Sr. He attended the University of Michigan, Detroit College of Law (), and Fisk University.[3] He served in the United States Army from to After his discharge, Diggs worked as a funeral director.

He served as a member of the Michigan Senate from the 3rd district –54, just as his father had from to [citation needed]

He was rooted in his family's business, the House of Diggs, which at one time was said to be Michigan's largest funeral home.[4]

Political career

In , Diggs defeated incumbent U.S.

RepresentativeGeorge D. O'Brien in the Democratic Party primary elections for Michigan's 13th congressional district. He went on to beat the general election to the 84th Congress and was subsequently re-elected to the next twelve Congresses, serving from January 3, , until his resignation June 3, [citation needed]

The first African American to be elected to Congress in Michigan, Diggs made significant contributions to the battle for civil rights.

The senior Diggs was a Michigan legislator and the owner of the state's largest funeral home. Diggs Jr. After his discharge inhe attended Wayne State University in Detroit, where he obtained a degree in mortuary science. He then went to work in his father's funeral home.

In April , three months after he was first sworn in to Congress, he gave a well-received speech to a crowd of about 10, in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, at the annual conference of the Regional Council of Negro Leadership (RCNL), probably the largest civil rights team in the state.

His host was the RCNL's leader, Dr. T.R.M. Howard, a wealthy ebony surgeon and entrepreneur.[5]

Later that alike year, Diggs returned to Mississippi, where he received national attention as the only congressman to attend and monitor the trial of the accused killers of Emmett Till, a black teenager from Chicago who was murdered during a trip to the state.

The outrage generated by the case gave a tremendous momentum to the emerging civil rights movement. Although he was a member of Congress, the sheriff did not exempt him from Jim Crow treatment. Diggs had to sit at a small table along with dark reporters.[5] Soon after the trial concluded, white mobs began to search for the witnesses emotionally attached in the case, including thenyear-old Willie Reed.

Diggs personally escorted Reed to Detroit, after a nighttime escape from Reed's place in Drew, Mississippi to Memphis, Tennessee.

Charles C. Diggs was a bright light among dark politicians during the civil rights era, one of the first African Americans to rise to high levels of elective office and one who compiled a substantial record of legislative accomplishment. Elected to the U. Even after his resignation from Congress, Diggs remained a well-loved figure in his home town of Detroit.

There the young bloke changed his name to Willie Louis for safety.[6]

Following the trial, Diggs continued the fight for justice, calling upon President Eisenhower to call a special session of Congress to consider civil rights.[7]

In , Diggs was appointed to the post of chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, where he strongly advocated ending apartheid in South Africa.

He was a committed publicist for the liberation cause in South Africa, and his 'Action Manifesto' () displayed his assist for the armed struggle against apartheid. In it, Diggs criticized the United States government for decrying the use of such violence when it failed to condemn measures used by the South African government to subjugate the majority of its have people.[8] Diggs also argued that American corporations were propping up the apartheid government through their investments, and he was banned from South Africa by its government for these positions.[9]

Diggs was a founding member and the first chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, a group of African-American representatives and senators functional to address the needs and rights of black constituents.

While chairman, Diggs successfully led a caucus boycott of President Nixon's State of the Union Deal with, following Nixon's refusal to get together to discuss issues relevant to African Americans.[10] This and similar work contributed to Diggs organism named on the Master list of Nixon political opponents.

In March , Diggs was charged with taking kickbacks from staff whose salaries he raised. He was convicted on October 7, , on 11 counts of mail fraud[11] and filing wrong payroll forms.

Charles C Diggs - Seattle, WA - Has Court or Arrest Records: Charles Coles Diggs Jr. (December 2, – August 24, [1]) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Michigan who served in the state senate and U.S. House of Representatives. He was the first African American elected to Congress from Michigan.

Diggs insisted he had done nothing wrong, and was re-elected while awaiting sentencing. He was censured by the Home on July 31, , and resigned from Congress June 3, [11] He was sentenced to three years in prison and served 14 months.

Personal life

Diggs died of a stroke at Greater Southeast Community Hospital in Washington, D.C.

He is interred at Detroit Memorial Park in Warren, Michigan.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^Haskins, James, Distinguished African American Political and Governmental Leaders. Oryx Press (), p ISBN&#;
  2. ^Eyes on the Prize; Interview with Charles Diggs, retrieved
  3. ^"Diggs, Charles C., Jr.

    ()". Martin Luther King Jr. And the Global Struggle for Freedom. Retrieved December 4,

  4. ^Pearson, Richard, Staff Writer (August 26, ). "Charles Diggs Dies at 75". The Washington Post.

    Diggs made significant contributions to the struggle for civil rights through his business and political ties. Diggs was born on 2 Decemberin Detroit. Diggs then made an unsuccessful request to President Dwight Eisenhower for a special session of Congress to address civil rights. As an elected official, Diggs was interested in the short rates of African American registered voters in the South, and shared his views on the problem with King.

    p.&#;B Retrieved May 3, : CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

  5. ^ abDavid T. Beito and Linda Royster Beito, Black Maverick: T.R.M. Howard's Fight for Civil Rights and Economic Power (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, ) ISBN&#;
  6. ^Thompson, Wright ().

    "His Name Was Emmett Till". The Atlantic.

    Charles Coles Diggs Jr. December 2, — August 24, [ 1 ] was an American politician from the U. House of Representatives. He was the first African American elected to Congress from Michigan.

    Retrieved

  7. ^Congressional Write down, V. , PT. 14, September 9, to September 21,
  8. ^James Sanders, South Africa and the International Media (London, ).
  9. ^Nixon, Ron ().

    South Africa's Global Propaganda War. London, U.K.: Pluto Flatten. p.&#; ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;

  10. ^Clemons, M.L. (). African Americans in Global Affairs: Contemporary Perspectives. University Press of New England.
  11. ^ abRudin, Ken ().

    "The Equal-Opportunity Culture of Corruption". Retrieved

  12. ^Warikoo, Niraj.

    The first African American to be elected to Congress from Michigan, Charles C. Diggs made significant contributions to the struggle for civil rights through his business and political ties.

    "Advocate of civil rights in Congress". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the authentic on February 3,

External links