Adelbert H. Roberts
Adelbert H. Roberts | |
|---|---|
 Roberts in 1925 as State Senator | |
| Member of the Illinois Senate | |
| In office 1924–1934 | |
| Member of the Illinois House of Representatives | |
| In office 1918–1920 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 20, 1866 Decatur, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | January 26, 1937 (aged 70) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Lula Wiley (m. 1895) |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Lawyer, politician |
Adelbert H. Roberts (August 20, 1866 – January 26, 1937) was an American politician and attorney[1] who in 1924 became the first African American to serve in the Illinois Senate.[2]
Biography
[edit]Roberts was born August 20, 1866, in Decatur, Michigan.[3] He graduated from high school at 17 and became a teacher. He took Ph.D. coursework at University of Michigan before attending Northwestern University School of Law. In 1895, he married Lula Wiley with whom he would have four children.[4]
In 1918, Roberts, a skilled orator,[1] was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives as a Republican. After the Chicago race riot of 1919, Governor Frank Orren Lowden's appointed Roberts, then in his second term on the Senate,[1] to the Chicago Commission on Race Relations created in response to the incident.[5] He used the position to "urge action to address labor and housing discrimination in Chicago".[1] His civil rights activism extended to his being a close friend of civil rights pioneer Booker T. Washington.[1]
Said to be concerned with the morals of those he represented,[4] he was on the Liquor Commission.[6] He was appointed to the Illinois Senate in 1924 to fill a vacancy and elected to the Senate in 1926 and 1930 where he served as chairman of the criminal procedures committee.[5] During his tenure in the Senate, he was a resident of the Douglas community area (the 3rd district).[3][7] In 1987,[1] a statue honoring him was commissioned and displayed on the second floor of the state capitol rotunda.[5][7][2]
Roberts died January 26, 1937, in Chicago.[8]
In 1984, Senator Margaret Smith and Representative Howard B. Brookins Sr. successfully campaigned to have a statue of Roberts installed in the Capitol rotunda.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f "TBT: "I'm going to have the rights of every other Congressman"". The Caucus Blog. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b "Generations of Pride: African American Timeline". dnrhistoric.illinois.gov. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
- ^ a b Illinois Blue Book 1933–1934. p. 121.
- ^ a b "Illinois Blue Book". 1925. p. 128.
- ^ a b c d Gherardini, Caroline, ed. (February 1984). "Honors". Illinois Issues. Vol. 9, no. 2. Springfield, Illinois: Sangamon State University. p. 41. ISSN 0738-9663. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
- ^ "Page 87". www.idaillinois.org. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
- ^ a b "Sen. Adelbert Roberts (R-Chicago), Illinois' first African-American state senator". The Caucus Blog. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
- ^ "A.H. Roberts, 1st Negro in State Senate, is Dead". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. January 28, 1937. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
[edit]- 1866 births
- 1937 deaths
- 20th-century American lawyers
- African-American state legislators in Illinois
- Illinois lawyers
- Republican Party Illinois state senators
- Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives
- Monmouth College alumni
- People from Van Buren County, Michigan
- Politicians from Chicago
- University of Michigan alumni
- 20th-century African-American politicians
- 20th-century African-American lawyers
- 20th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly