Frank R. Beckwith
Frank Roscoe Beckwith (December 11, 1904 – August 24, 1965) was an African American lawyer and civil rights activist. He was the first African American to run as a candidate for President of the United States in a major party primary.[1] During his lifetime he became a successful attorney and civil rights activist.[2]
A native of Indianapolis, Beckwith was born in 1904 to former slaves. He graduated from Arsenal Technical High School in 1921, and published the Indianapolis Tribune for a time in the 1920s. He joined the Republican party in 1928.[3] In 1943 he gave a radio address, "The Negro Lawyer and the War," which was subsequently published in book form by the American Bar Association.[2]
He competed in the 1964 Republican Presidential Primary in Indiana.[4] He urged the Republican Party to "re-evaluate and strengthen its position with labor as well as minorities" and called attention to the denial of voting rights and persecution of African Americans in the South.[5] Barry Goldwater won the Indiana Republican primary.
Prior to running for president, Beckwith ran unsuccessfully for the Indiana General Assembly and Indianapolis City-County Council.[6]
In 1964 he married Robbie Collins Goulsby. He was earlier married to Mahala Ashley Dickerson, a lawyer from Mississippi, who became the first black female attorney in Indianapolis and the second in the state of Indiana.[7][8]
References
- ↑ Barack Hussein Obama... Few Are Chosen. Author House. 2012. p. 172. ISBN 978-1-4772-6724-0.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Beckwith, Frank R. (March 18, 1943). The Negro Lawyer and the War. American Bar Association.
- ↑ "Frank R. Beckwith". Indiana State Library. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
- ↑ "Winning Candidate". Jet. April 23, 1964. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
- ↑ "Finds Dixie Bias Causes More Welfare Cases in North". Jet. March 12, 1964. p. 11. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
- ↑ Ksander, Yael. "Frank Beckwith for President". Indiana Public Media. Indiana Public Media. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
- ↑ "Lawyer's Bride Has Surprise Tribute for Husband". Jet. July 16, 1964. p. 46. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
- ↑ Smith, J. Clay, Jr. (ed.) (1998). Rebels in Law: Voices in History of Black Women Lawyers. University of Michigan Press. pp. 29–31. ISBN 0-472-08646-4.