The third African American elected to Congress in thetwentieth century and the first Black Member to chair astanding committee, William L. Dawson served in theU.S. House of Representatives for nearly three decades.A product of the influential Chicago Democratic machine,Dawson was a champion of the cause of civil rights andrecognized the importance of working through institutionalchannels in Congress to build power. Dawson, who wasknown for his reserved demeanor and allegiance to theDemocratic Party, used the established seniority system ofthe House of Representatives to amass legislative influenceon Capitol Hill. “A whole lot of publicity isn’t necessary toget things done,” the Chicago Representative said. “Nine-tenthsof the work of Congress is done off the floor.”1
William Levi Dawson was born in Albany, Georgia, onApril 26, 1886, to Levi Dawson, a barber, and RebeccaKendrick. One of six siblings, Dawson credited his father andsister with keeping his family together after his mother diedwhen he was a child. Upon graduating from Albany NormalSchool in 1905, he worked his way through Fisk Universityin Nashville, Tennessee, as a porter and a waiter. Hegraduated in 1909 with a bachelor’s degree, and three yearslater he moved to Chicago. After attending Kent College of Law and Northwestern University—both in Chicago—Dawson enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War I.In 1917, at the age of 31, he became a first lieutenant withthe 365th Infantry of the American Expeditionary Force.Dawson later noted that he was “above draft age and did nothave to go,” but he believed “it was the duty of every citizento rally to the colors in time of danger.” After returning toChicago, he resumed his studies at Northwestern and wasadmitted to the Illinois bar in 1920. Dawson married NellieBrown on December 20, 1922, and the couple had twochildren: William Dawson Jr. and Barbara.2
In 1928, Dawson waged an unsuccessful bid in theRepublican primary against incumbent Martin BarnabyMadden for the congressional district that encompassednumerous Black neighborhoods on Chicago’s South Side.Undeterred by the loss, Dawson continued to pursuea career in politics, becoming an ally of Chicago’s firstAfrican-American alderman, Oscar De Priest, who laterwon a special election to the House to fill the vacancyleft by Representative Madden’s death in 1928. In 1933,with De Priest’s support, Dawson won election to theChicago city council. Two years later, backed by Chicago’sDemocratic mayor, Edward J. Kelly, Dawson won re-election to a four-year term; he served a total of six years as an alderman. In his second attempt to win a House seatin 1938, Dawson defeated De Priest, who had lost his bidfor re-election to the House in 1934, in the Republicanprimary. But Dawson lost to the incumbent Arthur W.Mitchell in the general election, attracting about 47 percentof the vote to Mitchell’s 53 percent. In a city strugglingwith the economic effects of the Great Depression,Black Chicagoans welcomed President Franklin D.Roosevelt’s New Deal reforms. Dawson felt the pull of theDemocratic Party, the lure of patronage rewards withinthe Democratic machine, and a general impatience withthe old guard of Black leaders tied to the GOP. Havingchallenged De Priest, Dawson effectively severed his tiesto leading Black Republicans, who passed him over for theparty nomination for another term on the city council.Running as an Independent, he failed to secure re-election.3
Dawson’s political career was revived in 1939 with hisacceptance of Mayor Kelly’s offer of the post of Democraticcommitteeman for Chicago’s second ward. In line withthe growing shift of many African Americans from theRepublican to the Democratic Party, Dawson citedPresident Roosevelt’s New Deal agenda as his primarymotivation for changing parties. As a committeeman,Dawson efficiently organized his political base, using hisprecinct workers to help transform other predominantlyBlack wards into Democratic strongholds. In time,Dawson’s followers controlled as many as five wards thatgenerally offered overwhelming majorities to local, state,and national Democratic candidates.4
When Arthur Mitchell declined to seek a fifth term inthe House in 1942, Dawson opted for a third campaignfor a congressional seat—this time as a Democrat. Withthe solid backing of the Democratic machine, Dawsonearned the party nomination by defeating Earl Dickerson,a Chicago alderman. Dawson went on to beat RepublicanWilliam E. King, a former Illinois state senator and hislongtime political rival, in the general election—earning53 percent of the vote.5
During his first two terms in office, Dawson served onthree committees: Coinage, Weights, and Measures; InvalidPensions; and Irrigation and Reclamation. He wanteda seat on Judiciary Committee, but lost out to anotherIllinois Representative, Martin Gorski. He also served onthe Expenditures in the Executive Departments Committeefrom the 78th through the 80th Congress (1943–1949)before ascending to committee chair in 1949; the committeewas renamed Government Operations in 1952. Dawsonheld this leadership position for ten nonconsecutive terms,only ceding the gavel for one term when Republicans brieflyassumed control of the House during the 83rd Congress(1953–1955). Dawson’s historic chairmanship was celebratedin the press and at a dinner in his honor hosted by leadingnational and Illinois Democratic leaders. Dawson spent15 years on the District of Columbia Committee from the84th Congress to the 91st Congress (1955–1971), and healso served on the Insular Affairs Committee—later namedInterior and Insular Affairs—for two brief stints during the78th and 79th Congresses (1943–1947), and again duringthe 82nd Congress (1951–1953).6
During his first term in the House, Dawson was theonly African American serving in Congress. On February 9,1943, Dawson made his first speech on the House Floor. Hecriticized the actions of the House Un-American ActivitiesCommittee, which had accused a Black employee at theU.S. Treasury Department, William Pickens, of harboringCommunist ties. Dawson called the accusations baseless anddeclared the unquestioned loyalty of Pickens, who Dawsonhad known for 40 years.7
During his tenure in the House, Dawson steadfastlysupported equal employment opportunities. He believed“every American citizen is entitled to a job in this country,”and introduced several fair employment bills between1945 and 1949 to prohibit job discrimination based onrace or national origin. In 1944, he testified before theHouse Labor Committee in support of similar legislation.“The right to work is synonymous with the right to live,”he declared.8
Dawson also vigorously opposed the use of the poll taxby state governments and introduced bills to outlaw themas a qualification for federal elections. After the Housepassed an anti-poll tax bill in 1943, Dawson promotedit before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where heasserted that poll taxes were adopted for the “deliberate,vicious, undemocratic purpose of disfranchising largenumbers of Negroes and white people because of theireconomic status.”9
In 1944, a second Black Representative, Adam ClaytonPowell Jr. of New York, joined Dawson in Congress. Dawsonand Powell drew intense media attention and scrutinybecause of their strikingly different legislative styles. Powell,who epitomized a more confrontational approach within the civil rights movement, criticized racial inequality, including segregation in certain areas of the Capitol, atevery conceivable opportunity. Unlike Powell, Dawsondisliked personal publicity, was wary of the media, andlived unpretentiously. He personally attended to many ofthe details of his office. When in his district, Dawson spentpart of each day at his headquarters listening to complaints,requests, and opinions from his constituents. He kept a firmgrip on his share of power in Chicago, dispensing patronageand favors through his political machine and its ancillaryorganizations. Dawson worked behind the scenes to passlegislation to assist his district, particularly as he gainedpower in Congress.10
Throughout his 27 years in Congress, Dawson consistentlysupported the interests of the Democratic Party. In 1948,Dawson addressed the Democratic National Conventionin Philadelphia, praising President Harry S. Truman’s civilrights record and taking the opportunity to denounce theagenda of the Republican majority in the House. In 1950,his unswerving loyalty to the party eventually led to aposition of national prominence: vice chair of the DemocraticNational Committee (DNC). Dawson’s tenure as vicechair was controversial at the time. The Democratic Partysimultaneously touted the appointment and tried to wardoff criticism from southern Democrats who objected toDawson’s prominent role in the party. Dawson did notcomment publicly on the controversy and largely avoidedconfronting southern Democrats in the press.11
There was no equivocating on the appointment ofDawson as chair of the House Committee on Expendituresin the Executive Departments in 1949. The IllinoisRepresentative was well-positioned to eventually secure thegavel and lead the panel as the third-ranking Democraticmember of the committee. Two significant changes in theHouse Democratic Caucus led to his quick ascension tothe chair. First, Carter Manasco of Alabama, the rankingDemocrat on the committee in the 80th Congress (1947–1949), lost his bid for re-election in 1948. Next in line wasRepresentative John W. McCormack of Massachusetts.But when the Democrats took back the House majorityin the 81st Congress (1949−1951), McCormack waselected Majority Leader and was therefore ineligible tochair the committee. The start of Dawson’s chairmanshipin January 1949 led to howls of protest from southernDemocrats. Joseph Franklin Wilson of Texas resigned fromthe committee rather than work under Dawson’s leadership, and several southern Democrats requested that Speaker Sam Rayburn of Texas intervene to force another appointment.In a show of solidarity with Dawson, McCormack remainedon the committee despite the tradition of Majority Leadersdeclining committee assignments.12
One of Dawson’s first legislative achievements as chairwas to shepherd through Congress President Truman’s planfor reorganizing executive departments. Dawson sponsoredthe Reorganization Act of 1949 and his committee heldhearings on the bill. It became law in June 1949. The actenabled the President to create new agencies and restructureexisting departments, so long as plans were approved byCongress. Both the House and Senate had 60 days to reviewthe President’s proposals, and either chamber reserved theright to block their implementation.13
As chair of Government Operations, Dawson mainlyheld hearings on federal spending and touted the millionsof dollars he claimed his committee saved the governmentthrough its investigations. For instance, in 1957, thecommittee began an inquest into federally fundedscientific research programs. Dawson was concerned thatwithin a federal department or agency, “such a programcan be seriously impeded by wasteful duplication,excessive administration costs, complicated procedures,and organizational financial bottlenecks.” In July 1958,Dawson chaired the Government Operations subcommitteehearing exploring the decision-making process for defensespending. In 1966, Dawson’s committee criticized the federalgovernment’s research priorities after discovering that 90percent of research and development funding was allocatedto nuclear energy, space, and defense programs. Meanwhile,“civilian programs” to mitigate water pollution and addressurban housing and transportation issues were overlooked.Dawson also led the Government Operations Subcommitteeon Executive and Legislative Reorganization from the 84thto 89th Congresses (1955–1967). While RepresentativePowell had served as chair of a special subcommittee in the81st Congress, Dawson was the first Black Member to heada formal subcommittee organized at the start of the session.14
In 1951, Dawson played an integral role ensuringthat the Universal Military Training Act furthered thedesegregation of the armed forces first initiated in 1948.He helped defeat the Winstead amendment, proposed byWilliam Arthur Winstead of Mississippi, which wouldhave permitted military personnel to choose whether theywanted to serve in White or Black units. Dawson spoke on the House Floor during the debate to urge his colleagues to end racial discrimination in the military, mentioningthat an injury he sustained during World War I would nothave become a lifelong affliction had he been allowed accessto a White hospital. Commenting proudly that he “ledAmericans in battle,” Dawson proclaimed, “If there is oneplace in America where there should not be segregation,that place is in the armed services, among those who fightfor this country.”15
Dawson was often criticized for not fully employinghis authority as a committee chair and a leader ofthe DNC to promote meaningful change for AfricanAmericans. The NAACP condemned his “silence,compromise and meaningless moderation” on issuesconcerning African Americans, including his refusal toback the Powell amendment, which prohibited federalfunding for segregated schools. Although Dawson opposedthe measure because he feared the rider would undermineall aid to education, his caution disappointed many of hisown staff members. Powell intimated that his colleague caredmore about his position in Mayor Daley’s Chicago politicalmachine than the success of the civil rights movement—asentiment shared by other prominent Black leaders and civilrights groups. But Dawson took a more pragmatic approach.He viewed the political machine as an effective politicalorganizing tool in ward politics rather than an inherentlycorrupt institution—and he questioned the need for thetype of outspoken activism associated with Powell. “Theworld is full of orators, but it isn’t full of organizers,” he tolda reporter in 1946. “In this 2d Ward, we’ve got organizers.I don’t need to make speeches to get out the vote.”16
After the murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till—a Chicagoresident who was visiting family in Mississippi—Dawsonwas publicly chastised by the NAACP for neither speakingout in defense of Till’s family nor denouncing his murder.Dawson declined to respond to these allegations—anapproach that exacerbated criticism of the ChicagoRepresentative. Privately, however, Dawson worked behindthe scenes, helping Emmett Till’s mother, Mamie Bradley,to convince Mississippi officials to release her son’s bodyso that he could be buried in Illinois and he aided Bradleywith funeral arrangements.17
Dawson refuted detractors who accused him of failing toadequately confront issues important to Black Americans.“How is it,” he wondered, “that after fighting all my life forthe rights of my people, I suddenly awaken in the Septemberof life to find myself vilified and abused, and those whoknow me well and what I have stood for are accusing meof being against civil rights.” Reacting to criticism that hisinfrequent speeches in Congress were a sign of ineffectiveleadership, Dawson defended his approach to politics whilemaligning some of his outspoken Black colleagues, noting,“I use speeches only as the artisan does his stone, to buildsomething. I don’t talk just to show off.”18
Throughout his congressional career, Dawson balancedhis work in Washington with his determination to remaininfluential in Chicago Democratic politics. He maintaineda strong presence in the city’s ward politics while serving inCongress, doling out patronage positions and maintaininga strong Democratic organization. He played a key role inRichard J. Daley’s election as mayor of Chicago in 1955.In 1960, President John F. Kennedy’s narrow victory in thekey state of Illinois was largely dependent on the voters inDawson’s wards. Dawson’s efforts to mobilize support forKennedy led to widespread speculation among the press thatthe President-elect would express his gratitude by invitingthe Chicago Representative to become Postmaster General.Kennedy did in fact offer the Chicago Representative theposition, but the 74-year-old Dawson declined, insistinghe would be more useful to the new administration asa senior Member in the House. Some questioned theauthenticity of the offer, with the press insinuating thatthe position was never intended for Dawson but insteadwas a political maneuver to continue to build supportfrom Black Americans.19
Dawson introduced antilynching legislation several timesin the 1940s and 1950s. He also introduced a major civilrights bill on the House Floor in 1963. His bill echoedmany of the proposals then being considered in Congressand eventually rolled into the 1964 Civil Rights Act: votingrights, the end to discrimination in public accommodations,the creation of a Commission on Equal EmploymentOpportunity, and a provision to prohibit discrimination infederally funded programs. “There is a crisis in America thatis now a national danger,” he declared. “Unless somethingis done about it, and it must be done soon, this crisis willbecome a national calamity.”20
Despite his longevity and influence, Dawson neverassumed a leadership role among the small number ofAfrican Americans in Congress. He clashed with theconfrontational spirit adopted by many Black leaders duringthe 1960s. When Black Representatives began to organize and act collectively in 1969, Dawson declined to be part of the group. In May 1970—six months before his death—he did join his Black colleagues in criticizing PresidentRichard M. Nixon for not agreeing to meet with them.21
As a loyal Democrat, Dawson supported the VietnamWar and President Lyndon B. Johnson’s increasinglyunpopular foreign policy in Southeast Asia. In 1966, whenthe Department of Defense reported that the death rate ofBlack soldiers in Vietnam was higher than that of Whitesoldiers, Michigan Representatives John Conyers Jr. andCharles C. Diggs Jr. expressed concern and called for furtherinvestigation. Dawson considered the war an opportunityfor African Americans, who he said had “a great gain tomake in the present conflict” while noting that he hadnot yet read the report. “When we are out there, carryingour load and holding our own,” Dawson declared, “thedifferences of race are wiped out.” From 1967 to 1968,Dawson delayed the publication of a committee reportthat was critical of Johnson administration policy on landreform in Vietnam. John Emerson Moss of California, chairof the Government Operations Subcommittee on ForeignOperations and Government Information, had authoreda report that blamed the U.S. State Department and theU.S. Agency for International Development for failing topromote the redistribution of land from landlords to farmersin South Vietnam. This process instead was implementedby the Viet Cong in territory it controlled in SouthVietnam—a move calculated to further the organization’srevolutionary goals at the expense of the anticommunistforces. Dawson delayed publication of the report for fivemonths to avoid embarrassing the administration. Shortlyafter, Dawson proposed to abolish the Foreign OperationsSubcommittee after the full committee’s budget was slashed.Dawson said that the reorganization was necessary dueto lack of funding, but some suspected that he made thedecision at the request of the Johnson administration. Thereorganization plan was scrapped after the House approveda higher budget for the committee.22
Dawson rarely faced any significant opposition to hisre-election. Several Black Republicans challenged him in the1950s and 1960s, offering pointed critiques of his policychoices and voting record. Regardless of the mountingcriticism against him, Dawson typically cruised to victory,earning between 70 and 80 percent of the vote. His ageand his poor health—he had a stroke when he was 71 in1957—prevented him from playing an active role on thecampaign trail in the 1960s. Nevertheless, he continuedto enjoy comfortable victories against his opponents in thegeneral election.23
By the end of his career, however, the IllinoisRepresentative found himself on the defensive for refusingto disassociate himself from the Daley machine, whichby the late 1960s was widely perceived as insufficientlycommitted to the cause of civil rights. He also facedgrowing criticism from members of his own party and fromcivil rights groups. For example, in 1966, he faced a primarychallenge from Fred Hubbard, a YMCA youth worker whofocused his campaign on framing Dawson as a machinepolitician unfit to respond to the needs of the district.Dawson remained in Washington during the lead-up to theprimary, unconcerned about his opponent, and Hubbarddropped out of the race before the vote. In the generalelection, the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and theStudent Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)organized for his Republican opponent, David Reed, yetDawson won easily. In their treatise on the significance ofthe nascent Black Power movement, Stokely Carmichaeland Charles V. Hamilton wrote that Dawson had “becomeassimilated” and allowed the White power structure inthe city of Chicago to rule over the Black community like“Britain over the African colonies.”24
Dawson won again in 1968 before deciding to retireat the conclusion of the 91st Congress (1969–1971). OnNovember 9, 1970, only six days after his handpickedsuccessor, Ralph H. Metcalfe, won election to his seat,Dawson died of pneumonia in Chicago.25
Footnotes
1Ellen Hoffman, “Rep. William L. Dawson Dies,” 10 November 1970,Washington Post: B6; William L. Clay,Just Permanent Interests: Black Americansin Congress, 1870–1991 (New York: Amistad, 1992): 366; Robert Nelson,“Political Goals Emerge: Chicago Negroes Rallied to Ballot,” 30 October1963,Christian Science Monitor: 3; Kenneth C. Field, “The Dawson Dynasty:A Brilliant Speaker, but He’s Rarely a Negro Spokesman,” 20 September 1962,Chicago Daily Defender: 1.
2“People in the News,” 2 January 1949,Washington Post: M2; ThaddeusRussell, “William Levi Dawson,”American National Biography, vol. 6 (NewYork: Oxford University Press, 1999): 258; Christopher Manning,William L.Dawson and the Limits of Black Electoral Leadership (DeKalb: Northern IllinoisUniversity Press, 2009): 30–36, 55–56;Congressional Record, 88th Cong., 1stsess. (29 October 1963): 20425; Hoffman, “Rep. William L. Dawson Dies.”
3Robert L. Jones, “William L. Dawson,” inNotable Black American Men, ed.Jesse Carney Smith (Detroit, MI: Gale Research Inc., 1998): 270; NancyWeiss,Farewell to the Party of Lincoln: Black Politics in the Age of FDR(Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1983): 78–95; Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, “Election Statistics, 1920 to Present”; William J. Grimshaw,BitterFruit: Black Politics and the Chicago Machine, 1931–1991 (Chicago: TheUniversity of Chicago Press, 1992): 47–68, 75–77.
4Manning,William L. Dawson and the Limits of Black Electoral Leadership:82–87; Joseph D. Bibb, “Mr. Dawson: New Congressman Brings A Record ofUnceasing Courage and Unfaltering Energy in Public Affairs to the Capital,”21 November 1942,Pittsburgh Courier: 13; “Politicians Scoff At Idea OfTaking Dawson’s Power,” 8 May 1955,Atlanta Daily World: 1.
5Harold Smith, “Congress Fight in 1st District Holds Spotlight,” 22 February1942,Chicago Daily Tribune: S5; Harold Smith, “Feud Heightens King’sChances in the 1st District,” 8 March 1942,Chicago Daily Tribune: S2; "Election Statistics, 1920 to Present."
6“Washington Letter,” 7 January 1943,Chicago Daily Times: 8; “Negro inCongress Hailed,” 22 January 1949,New York Times: 6; “People in the News”;“Negro in Congress Hailed.”
7“Only Negro Congressman Makes House Plea in Defense of Pickens, Accusedby Dies,” 9 February 1943,New York Times: 13.
8Congressional Record, 79th Cong., 1st sess. (12 July 1945): 7485; H.R. 229,80th Cong. (1947); H.R. 384, 81st Cong. (1949); H.R. 2902, 80th Cong.(1947); H.R. 700, 79th Cong. (1945); Hearings before the House Committeeon Labor,To Prohibit Discrimination in Employment, 78th Cong., 2nd sess.(1944): 22.
9H.R. 230, 80th Cong. (1947); H.R. 383, 81st Cong. (1949); Hearings beforethe Senate Committee on the Judiciary,Poll Taxes, 78th Cong., 1st sess.(1943): 1–2, 74.
10James Q. Wilson, “Two Negro Politicians: An Interpretation,”Midwest Journalof Political Science 4 (November 1960): 346–369.
11“Dawson Assails Republicans in Address at Convention,” 24 July 1948,Afro-American (Baltimore, MD): 12; Alden Whitman, “Power in Chicago,” 10November 1970,New York Times: 50; Percy Wood, “Congressman Dawson!Chicago Democrat with a Clout,” 6 February 1955,Chicago Daily Tribune:5; Drew Pearson, “Democrats Pick Negro for Job,” 3 December 1949,Washington Post: B15; “ ‘No Giant Hoax:’ Dawson is Confirmed as Demos’Vice-Chief,” 25 March 1950,Afro-American: 1; Manning,William L. Dawsonand the Limits of Black Electoral Leadership: 121.
12Manning,William L. Dawson and the Limits of Black Electoral Leadership:120–121; Louis Lautier, “Rep. Dawson—From Georgia Bootblack toCongressman,” 7 October 1950,Journal and Guide (Norfolk, VA): 10;Venice Spraggs, “William (Bill) Dawson’s Rise,” 8 January 1949,ChicagoDefender: 13; “Negro Due to Head Major House Group,” 6 November 1948,Washington Post: 4; “M’Cormack Aids Dawson,” 1 January 1949,New YorkTimes: 24.
13H.R. 1569, 81st Cong. (1949), H.R. 2361, 81st Cong. (1949); Hearingsbefore the Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments,Reorganization of Government Agencies, 81st Cong., 1st sess. (1949);Reorganization Act of 1949, Public Law 81-109, 63 Stat. 203 (1949).
14“U.S. Scientific Research New Probe Target,” 25 November 1957,ChicagoDaily Tribune: A2; “Pentagon Reviewing New Formula to Speed Research andDevelopment for Air Force,” 15 July 1958,Wall Street Journal: 9; Hearingsbefore the House Committee on Government Operations, Subcommitteeon Executive and Legislative Reorganization,Research and Development (Part2—Military Research Representatives), 85th Cong., 2nd sess. (1958); BruceWinters, “Lag in ‘Civilian’ Research Cited,” 28 June 1966,Baltimore Sun:A1; House Committee on Government Operations,Federal Research andDevelopment Programs: The Decisionmaking Process, 89th Cong., 2nd sess., H.Rept. 1664 (1966): 1.
15Congressional Record, 82nd Cong., 1st sess. (12 April 1951): 3765; JohnG. Norris, “Republican Efforts to Restrict Clauses Mostly Beaten Off;Conferees Act Next,” 14 April 1951,Washington Post: 1; “Dawson Lauded forLeadership,” 18 March 1956,New York Times: 85.
16“NAACP Criticizes Rep. Dawson,” 1 September 1956,Washington Post:38; Ellen Hoffman, “Rep. William L. Dawson Dies,” 10 November 1970,Washington Post: B6; Robert Singh,The Congressional Black Caucus: RacialPolitics in the U.S. Congress (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.,1998): 46–47; Carol M. Swain,Black Faces, Black Interests: The Representationof African Americans in Congress (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,1993): 34–35; Hoffman, “Rep. William L. Dawson Dies”; Russell, “WilliamLevi Dawson,”American National Biography: 259; Adam Fairclough,BetterDay Coming: Blacks and Equality, 1890–2000 (New York: Viking, 2001): 301;Vernon Jarrett, “William L. Dawson: A Look at ‘The Man,’ ” 15 November1970,Chicago Tribune: A5.
17“NAACP Criticizes Rep. Dawson,” 1 September 1956,Washington Post:38; “Dawson Defends his Role on Civil Rights,” 8 September 1956,Afro-American: 5; “Till’s Mother Says Ike Ignored Pleas for Help,” 3 November1956,Chicago Defender: 1.
18Jones, “William L. Dawson”: 271; “Dawson Lauded for Leadership.”
19Guy Gentry, “Rising Power of Dawson Is Felt in Wards,” 30 March 1952,Chicago Daily Tribune: S1; George Tagge, “Dawson Praises Daley and Defendsthe Machine,” 11 February 1955,Chicago Daily Tribune: 1; George Tagge,“Kennelly Men Blast Dawson; Fight Promised,” 12 January 1955,ChicagoDaily Tribune: 16; Arthur Schlesinger Jr.,A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy inthe White House (New York: Fawcett Press, 1965): 140; Manning,William L.Dawson and the Limits of Black Electoral Leadership: 147; “Choice of a NegroMay Aid Kennedy,” 31 December 1960,New York Times: 6.
20H.R. 228, 80th Cong. (1947); H.R. 385, 81st Cong. (1949); FederalAntilynching Act, H.R. 1252, 83rd Cong. (1953); Federal Antilynching Act,H.R. 1097, 85th Cong. (1957); Federal Antilynching Act, H.R. 7560, 86thCong. (1959); Civil Rights Act of 1963, H.R. 7453, 88th Cong. (1963);Congressional Record, 88th Cong., 1st sess. (29 October 1963): 20425.
21Larry Bryant, “ ‘Black Eight’ Rap Nixon’s Domestic Policy,” 15 November1969,Afro-American: 12; “Congressmen Blast Nixon for Failing to MeetThem,” 30 May 1970,Afro-American: 19.
22William L. Dawson, “Reports from Washington,” 15 January 1966,ChicagoDefender: 8; J. Linn Allen, “Congressmen Seek Investigation of Higher VietNam Death Rate,” 19 March 1966,Afro-American: 1; William C. Selover,“Land Reform Called Key Viet War Issue,” 6 March 1968,Christian ScienceMonitor: 6; House Committee on Government Operations,Land Reform inVietnam, 90th Cong., 2nd sess., H. Rept. 1142 (1968); “Information Unitgets House Funds,” 10 May 1968,New York Times: 21.
23Harold Smith, “Strong Fights Enliven Race For Congress,” 5 November 1950,Chicago Daily Tribune: N1; “Duster Hit Dawson’s ‘Philosophy’ Record,” 27October 1962,Chicago Defender: 11; “Reed Challenges Dawson’s Record,”1 November 1966,Chicago Daily Defender: 4; Percy Wood, “Dawson Rated‘Unsatisfactory,’ ” 23 October 1960,Chicago Daily Tribune: S1; "Election Statistics, 1920 to Present"; Hoffman, “Rep. William L. Dawson Dies”; George Tagge, “Silent Dawson Flies East as Voting Nears,” 31 October 1962,Chicago Daily Tribune: 5; “Daley Rapped for Secrecy About Dawson,” 4November 1962,Chicago Daily Tribune: K42.
24Francis Ward, “Dawson Dies; Pioneer Black Congressman,” 10 November1970,Los Angeles Times: A19; Russell, “William Levi Dawson”: 259; Nelson,“Political Goals Emerge: Chicago Negroes Rallied to Ballot”; “The UnbeatableMr. Dawson,” 25 June 1966, Afro-American: 4; Betty Washington, “CityOpen Housing Council Ridiculed By CORE’s Lucas,” 5 November 1966,Chicago Defender: 1; Stokely Carmichael and Charles V. Hamilton,BlackPower: The Politics of Liberation in America (New York: Vintage Books, 1967):11–12.
25“William L. Dawson Decides He Won’t Run for Re-election,” 29 November1969,Afro-American: 6; Hoffman, “Rep. William L. Dawson Dies.”
