Charles Diggs | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chair of theHouse District of Columbia Committee | |
| In office January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1979 | |
| Preceded by | John L. McMillan |
| Succeeded by | Ron Dellums |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMichigan's13th district | |
| In office January 3, 1955 – June 3, 1980 | |
| Preceded by | George D. O'Brien |
| Succeeded by | George Crockett Jr. |
| Member of theMichigan Senate from the3rd district | |
| In office 1951–1954 | |
| Preceded by | Henry Kozak |
| Succeeded by | Cora Brown |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Charles Coles Diggs Jr. (1922-12-02)December 2, 1922 |
| Died | August 24, 1998(1998-08-24) (aged 75) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Education | University of Michigan Fisk University Wayne State University (BS) Michigan State University |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1943–1945 |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Charles Coles Diggs Jr. (December 2, 1922 – August 24, 1998[1]) was an Americanpolitician from theU.S. state ofMichigan who served in the state senate andU.S. House of Representatives. He was the firstAfrican American elected to Congress from Michigan.
A member of the Democratic Party, Diggs was an early participant in thecivil rights movement. In September 1955, the Michigan Representative garnered national attention when he attended the trial of the two white Mississippians accused of murderingEmmett Till.[2] He was elected the first chairman of theCongressional Black Caucus, which he was also one of the main founders of, and was a staunch critic of theapartheid regime in South Africa.
Diggs resigned from theUnited States House of Representatives and served 14 months of a three-yearsentence formail fraud, although he maintained his innocence.
Born inDetroit, Michigan, Charles was the only child of Mayme E. Jones Diggs, andCharles Diggs Sr. He attended theUniversity of Michigan,Detroit College of Law (1952-52), andFisk University.[3] He served in theUnited States Army from 1943 to 1945. After his discharge, Diggs worked as afuneral director. He served as a member of theMichigan Senate from the 3rd district 1951–54, just as his father had from 1937 to 1944.[citation needed]
He was rooted in his family's business, theHouse of Diggs, which at one time was said to be Michigan's largest funeral home.[4]
In 1954, Diggs defeated incumbentU.S. RepresentativeGeorge D. O'Brien in theDemocratic Party primary elections forMichigan's 13th congressional district. He went on to win thegeneral election to the84th Congress and was subsequently re-elected to the next twelve Congresses, serving from January 3, 1955, until his resignation June 3, 1980.[citation needed]
The first African American to be elected to Congress in Michigan, Diggs made significant contributions to the struggle forcivil rights. In April 1955, three months after he was first sworn in to Congress, he gave a well-received speech to a crowd of about 10,000 inMound Bayou, Mississippi, at the annual conference of theRegional Council of Negro Leadership (RCNL), probably the largest civil rights group in the state. His host was the RCNL's leader, Dr.T.R.M. Howard, a wealthy black surgeon and entrepreneur.[5]
Later that same year, Diggs returned to Mississippi, where he received national attention as the only congressman to attend and monitor the trial of the accused killers ofEmmett Till, a blackteenager fromChicago 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 ofCongress, thesheriff did not exempt him fromJim Crow treatment. Diggs had to sit at a small table along with black reporters. Soon after the trial concluded, white mobs began to search for the witnesses involved in the case, including then-18-year-oldWillie Reed. Diggs personally escorted Reed to Detroit, after a nighttime escape from Reed's home in Drew, Mississippi to Memphis, Tennessee. There the young man 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]
Diggs is acknowledged to have been the main founder of theCongressional Black Caucus' predecessor the "Democratic Select Committee," which he chaired from 1969 to 1971.[8]
In 1969, Diggs was appointed to the post of chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa of theCommittee on Foreign Affairs, where he strongly advocated endingapartheid in South Africa. He was a committed publicist for the liberation cause inSouth Africa, and his 'Action Manifesto' (1972) displayed his support 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 own people.[9] 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.[10]
Diggs was a founding member and the first chairman of theCongressional Black Caucus, a group of African-American representatives and senators working 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 Address, following Nixon's refusal to meet to discuss issues relevant to African Americans.[11] This and similar work contributed to Diggs being named on theMaster list of Nixon political opponents.
In March 1978, Diggs was charged with takingkickbacks from staff whose salaries he raised. He was convicted on October 7, 1978, on 11 counts of mail fraud[12] and filing false payroll forms. Diggs insisted he had done nothing wrong, and was re-elected while awaiting sentencing. He was censured by the House on July 31, 1979, and resigned from Congress June 3, 1980.[12] He was sentenced to three years in prison and served 14 months.
Diggs died of a stroke at Greater Southeast Community Hospital inWashington, D.C. He is interred at Detroit Memorial Park inWarren, Michigan.[13]
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMichigan's 13th congressional district 1955–1980 | Succeeded by |
| New office | Chair of theCongressional Black Caucus 1969–1972 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theHouse District of Columbia Committee 1973–1979 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
