This man acquired more congressional power and influence than any person ever to serve in the U.S. Congress (black or white). This man was bad when bad surely wasn’t cool. He invited Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X to his church to speak back in 1963. At the time, no other civil rights leader would have touched that with a 20 foot pole. It was Adam Clayton Powell who coined the term “black power”. This term was later the adopted rhetorical trademark of militant black leaders such as H. Rap Brown, Stokely Carmichael, etc.
Adam Clayton Powell was the guiding force that co-authored the key civil rights legis-lations, such as the Voter Rights Act and Civil Right Bill and pushed them through the congress. He chaired and served on more powerful and influential congressional committees than any other U.S. congressman.
It was his power and his willingness to make it work for his people nationwide that led to his troubles. He was so hated and envied by some of his white colleagues that they set out to destroy his credibility through character assassination. Even if he were guilty of some of the improprieties that he was charged with, that still can’t take away from a most productive tenure which he so gallantly served in the U.S. Congress. Again, we are glad that he passed this way.
Adam Clayton Powell: portrait by James Haskins Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. by Robert E. Jakoubek