A true mover and shaker, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., was the pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. In 1961, he was elected chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, where he approved several federal programs for minimum wage increases, education improvement and funding for public libraries.
Republican Edward William Brooke III was the first African-American elected by popular vote to the United States Senate in 1966. Media personality Barbara Walters revealed in her memoir, “Audition”, that she had an affair with Brooke while he was married to his first wife.
Trailblazer Shirley Chisholm was the first Black woman elected to Congress in 1968, where she found an effective platform to speak on the rights of women and people of color. In an even gutsier move, in 1972 she also became the first Black woman to run for president of United States.
Patricia Roberts Harris was a multifaceted woman who dedicated her life to public service and civil rights. In 1977, she became the first African-American Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. When questioned at her confirmation hearing about her ability to represent the interests of the poor, she responded, “I am a Black woman who could not buy a house eight years ago in parts of the District of Columbia. I didn’t start out as a member of a prestigious law firm, but as a woman who needed a scholarship to go to school. If you think that I have forgotten that, you are wrong.”
There were early signs of greatness for Reverend Al Sharpton. He was already an ordained preacher at 10 years old, traveling on tour with gospel singer Mahalia Jackson. In 2004, he tried to utilize those same leadership skills when he ran for the Democratic presidential nomination.