The Political Graveyard: NAACP, politicians, Illinois

PoliticalGraveyard.com

NAACP
Politician members in Illinois

Jane Addams (1860-1935) — of Chicago, Cook County, Ill. Born in Cedarville, Stephenson County, Ill., September 6, 1860. Progressive. Social worker; sociologist; lecturer; woman suffrage activist; pacifist; delegate to Progressive National Convention from Illinois, 1912; candidate for Presidential Elector for Illinois; received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931. Female. Presbyterian or Unitarian. English ancestry. Lesbian. Member, Phi Beta Kappa; American Civil Liberties Union; Women's International League for Peace and Freedom; NAACP. Died, from cancer, in Chicago, Cook County, Ill., May 21, 1935 (age 74 years, 257 days). Interment at Cedarville Cemetery, Cedarville, Ill.

		Relatives: Daughter of Sarah (Weber) Addams and John Huy Addams; aunt of Anna Marcet Haldeman (who married Emanuel Julius); grandniece of William Addams.
		The World War II Liberty ship SS Jane Addams (built 1942 at Terminal Island, Los Angeles, California; sold 1947 and converted to a floating wharf) was named for her.
		See also Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
		Image source: U.S. postage stamp (1940)

Louis J. Butler Jr. (b. 1952) — Born in Chicago, Cook County, Ill., 1952. Circuit judge in Wisconsin, 2003-04; justice of Wisconsin state supreme court, 2004-08; appointed 2004; defeated, 2008; first African-American justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. African ancestry. Member, NAACP. Still living as of 2016.

Cardiss Collins (1931-2013) — also known as Cardiss Hortense Robertson — of Chicago, Cook County, Ill. Born in St. Louis, Mo., September 24, 1931. Democrat. U.S. Representative from Illinois 7th District, 1973-97; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Illinois, 1996, 2000, 2004; member of Democratic National Committee from Illinois, 2004. Female. Baptist. African ancestry. Member, NAACP; Urban League. Died in Washington, D.C., February 2, 2013 (age 81 years, 131 days). Burial location unknown.

		Relatives: Married to George Washington Collins.
		See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — NNDB dossier

Mercer Cook (1903-1987) — of Washington, D.C.; Illinois. Born in Washington, D.C., March 30, 1903. U.S. Ambassador to Niger, 1961-64; Senegal, 1964-66; Gambia, 1965-66. Catholic. African ancestry. Member, NAACP. Died in 1987 (age about 84 years). Burial location unknown.

Corneal A. Davis — of Chicago, Cook County, Ill. Democrat. Member of Illinois state house of representatives, 1931; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Illinois, 1964; member of Illinois Democratic State Central Committee, 1967. African Methodist Episcopal. African ancestry. Member, American Legion; NAACP; Freemasons; Shriners. Burial location unknown.

Ernest A. Greene — of Chicago, Cook County, Ill. Born in Rome, Floyd County, Ga. Republican. Lawyer; member of Illinois state house of representatives 1st District, 1937-42. African ancestry. Member, Alpha Phi Alpha; NAACP. Burial location unknown.

Lawrence Kestenbaum (b. 1955) — also known as Larry Kestenbaum — of East Lansing, Ingham County, Mich.; Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, Mich. Born in Chicago, Cook County, Ill., September 13, 1955. Democrat. Lawyer; Ingham County Commissioner 8th District, 1983-88; candidate for Michigan state house of representatives 52nd District, 1998; Washtenaw County Commissioner 4th District, 2000-02; Washtenaw County Clerk and Register of Deeds, 2005-. Jewish. Hungarian, German, Polish, and Norwegian ancestry. Member, National Trust for Historic Preservation; American Civil Liberties Union; Grange; Sierra Club; NAACP. Creator of The Political Graveyard web site. Still living as of 2022.

		Relatives: Son of Justin Louis Kestenbaum and Maryhelen (Dietrich) Kestenbaum; married, November 17, 1990, to Janice Gutfreund; grandnephew of Meyer Kestnbaum.
		Political family: Wilentz family of Perth Amboy, New Jersey.
		See also Wikipedia article — OurCampaigns candidate detail

Jewel Lafontant-Mankarious (1922-1997) — also known as Jewel Stradford; Jewel Stradford Rogers; Jewel Stradford Lafontant — of Chicago, Cook County, Ill. Born in Chicago, Cook County, Ill., April 28, 1922. Republican. Lawyer; delegate to Republican National Convention from Illinois, 1960 (alternate), 1972, 1988; candidate for superior court judge in Illinois, 1962; candidate for Judge, Illinois Appellate Court, 1970; U.S. Ambassador to , 1989. Female. African ancestry. Member, American Bar Association; National Bar Association; NAACP; American Civil Liberties Union. Died, of breast cancer, in Chicago, Cook County, Ill., May 31, 1997 (age 75 years, 33 days). Burial location unknown.

		Relatives: Daughter of Cornelius Francis Stradford and Aida Arabella (Carter) Stradford; married 1946 to John W. Rogers; married 1961 to H. Ernest LaFontant; married 1989 to Naguib Soby Mankarious.
		See also U.S. State Dept career summary

Floyd J. Mattheeussen (1930-2005) — of Benton Harbor, Berrien County, Mich. Born in Chicago, Cook County, Ill., March 29, 1930. Democrat. School teacher and principal; fruit farmer; member of Michigan state house of representatives 44th District, 1965-66; defeated, 1966. United Church of Christ. Member, American Federation of Teachers; NAACP. Died August 26, 2005 (age 75 years, 150 days). Burial location unknown.

Relatives: Married to Barbara Marie Schindler.

Ralph Harold Metcalfe (1910-1978) — also known as Ralph H. Metcalfe — of Chicago, Cook County, Ill. Born in Atlanta, Fulton County, Ga., May 29, 1910. Democrat. Won gold, silver and bronze Olympic medals in 1932 and 1936; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Illinois, 1952 (alternate), 1956 (alternate), 1964 (alternate), 1968; U.S. Representative from Illinois 1st District, 1971-78; died in office 1978. Catholic. African ancestry. Member, Amvets; American Legion; Urban League; NAACP; Elks; Alpha Phi Alpha. Died, from a heart attack, in Chicago, Cook County, Ill., October 10, 1978 (age 68 years, 134 days). Interment at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Alsip, Ill.

Dorothy Gertrude O'Brien (b. 1919) — also known as Dorothy G. O'Brien — of DeKalb, DeKalb County, Ill. Born in DeKalb, DeKalb County, Ill., February 8, 1919. Democrat. Nurse; chair of DeKalb County Democratic Party, 1956-60; Illinois Democratic state chair, 1958-64; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Illinois, 1960, 1980 (alternate); member of Democratic National Committee from Illinois, 1963-67. Female. Catholic. Member, Kappa Beta Pi; NAACP. Presumed deceased. Burial location unknown.

Relatives: Daughter of James S. O'Brien and Mary (Carton) O'Brien.

Perkins T. Shelton (1911-2003) — of Chicago, Cook County, Ill.; St. Petersburg, Pinellas County, Fla. Born December 19, 1911. Democrat. Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Florida, 1984, 1996. African ancestry. Member, NAACP. Died, in Bayfront Medical Center, St. Petersburg, Pinellas County, Fla., October 20, 2003 (age 91 years, 305 days). Burial location unknown.

William A. Wallace (b. 1867) — of Chicago, Cook County, Ill. Born in Maryland, June 6, 1867. Democrat. Postal worker; land title worker; merchant; member of Illinois state senate 3rd District; elected 1938; alternate delegate to Democratic National Convention from Illinois, 1940. African Methodist Episcopal. African ancestry. Member, Urban League; NAACP. Burial location unknown.

Harold Washington (1922-1987) — of Chicago, Cook County, Ill. Born in Chicago, Cook County, Ill., April 15, 1922. Democrat. Lawyer; member of Illinois state house of representatives, 1965; member of Illinois state senate, 1977; U.S. Representative from Illinois 1st District, 1981-83; resigned 1983; mayor of Chicago, Ill., 1983-87; defeated in primary, 1977; died in office 1987. African ancestry. Member, NAACP; National Bar Association. Died in Chicago, Cook County, Ill., November 25, 1987 (age 65 years, 224 days). Interment at Oak Woods Cemetery, Chicago, Ill.

		The Harold Washington Public Library, in Chicago, Illinois, is named for him.
		See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — NNDB dossier
		Books about Harold Washington: Paul Kleppner, Chicago Divided : The Making of a Black Mayor — Melvin G. Holli, Bashing Chicago Traditions : Harold Washington's Last Campaign, Chicago, 1987 — Dempsey J. Travis, Harold, the People's Mayor : The Authorized Biography of Mayor Harold Washington — Florence Hamlish Levinsohn, Harold Washington: A political biography — Alton Miller, Harold Washington: The Mayor, the Man — Naurice Roberts, Harold Washington : Mayor With A Vison (for young readers)

Christopher C. Wimbish (b. 1895) — of Chicago, Cook County, Ill. Born in Atlanta, Fulton County, Ga., 1895. Democrat. Served in the U.S. Army during World War I; member of Illinois state senate 3rd District; defeated, 1938; elected 1942, 1946; alternate delegate to Democratic National Convention from Illinois, 1948. African ancestry. Member, Urban League; NAACP; American Legion; Disabled American Veterans; Alpha Phi Alpha. Burial location unknown.

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