Frederick Madison Roberts
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Frederick Madison Roberts (September 14, 1879 – July 18, 1952) was a mortician who is believed to be the first African American to be elected to public office (the California State Assembly) on the West Coast of the United States. He was a great-grandson of Sally Hemings and presumably Thomas Jefferson.
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[edit] Biography
Roberts was born on September 14, 1879 in Chillicothe, Ohio, the son of Andrew Jackson Roberts and Ellen Wayles Hemings, the granddaughter of Sally Hemings. At the age of six Roberts moved with his family to Los Angeles, where his father established the first black-owned mortuary in the area. He attended Los Angeles High School and became its first African American graduate.
His education continued at the University of Southern California (USC) where he majored in pre-law, but he graduated from Colorado College. He also attended the Barnes-Worsham School of Embalming and Mortuary Science, eventually taking over his father's mortuary business, now called A.J. Roberts & Son.
He edited the Colorado Springs Light newspaper in 1908 and returned to Los Angeles four years later to take over the New Age newspaper, which he edited until 1948. He also was a principal of Mound Bayou Normal and Industrial Institute in Mississippi and served as deputy assessor for El Paso County, Colorado.
In 1918 Roberts was elected to the California State Assembly as a Republican in a hard-fought campaign in which his chief rival issued racial slurs against him. While in office Roberts sponsored legislation to improve public education and proposed several civil rights measures. In June 1922, he welcomed Black Nationalist leader Marcus Garvey to Los Angeles and rode in his parade car.
Roberts served in the State Assembly until 1934, when he was defeated by another African American candidate, Augustus F. Hawkins, a Democrat. Following his defeat Roberts twice ran unsuccessfully to represent California in Congress, which had not had an African American representative from California. In his 1946 attempt he ran for the 14th Congressional District against incumbent Helen Gahagan Douglas, a former actress who lost a hotly-contested U.S. Senate race to Richard M. Nixon a few years later.
On the evening of July 18, 1952 Roberts was involved in a serious automobile accident in his hometown of Los Angeles, and died the following afternoon at Los Angeles County General Hospital. He is interred at Evergreen Cemetery.
[edit] Legacy
In 1957 the city of Los Angeles dedicated Frederick M. Roberts Park, 4700 Honduras St., in his memory.
On Monday, February 25, 2002 the California State Senate honored Frederick Madison Roberts for his contributions and service to the State of California. Senate Resolution 26, authored by Senator Ray Haynes (R-Riverside), passed the State Senate with a unanimous vote.
[edit] External links
- The Political Graveyard
- Haynes Honors First African-American Legislator
- African American History in the West Vignette: Frederick M. Roberts (1879-1952)
- California Legislative Black Caucus
[edit] References
- Jefferson's Children: The Story of One American Family: Jane Feldman, Shannon Lanier
| Preceded by Unknown |
California State Assemblyman 62nd district 1919 — 1934 |
Succeeded by Augustus F. Hawkins |
