Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.: The Political Biography of an American Dilemma

Charles V. Hamilton calls his biography of Adam Clayton Powell, Jrs. THE POLITICAL BIOGRAPHY OF AN AMERICAN DILEMMA. The American dilemma that he refers to is Gunnar Myrdal's 1944 thesis. Myrdal concluded taht American society possess a strong belief in liberty, equality, respect for law and democracy but when it comes to blacks, those same values do not always apply. So the society says one thing and does another as it relates to blacks and other minorities. Hamilton argues that this "blatant contradiction in American society between the Creed and reality was constantly highlighted by white and black advocates of civil rights." In Adam Clayton Powell, Hamilton finds the personification of this dilemma. He asserts that Powell made that dilemma the main issue of his public life. As a result, Powell's constant attempts to raisse and challege America's dilemma is the theme that Hamilton uses to portray his subject. For students of Powell who may have read Wil Haygood's KING OF THE CATS, Hamilton's portrayal is much different. As the title implies, Hamilton primarily sticks to the political side of Powell's career while Haygood presents a much more personal account of the preacher/congressman. While I came away from the Haygood work feeling attached and sympathetic of Powell, I came away from Hamilton's work realizing that Powell had an extremely dark side and that many of his problmes were self inflicted. In addiiton, for the serious students, Hamilton's footnotes are invaluable. One of Hamilton's major arguments is that Powell endorsed Eisenhower in 1956 in the hopes of stopping further IRS and FBI investigations of his personal finances. He also makes it clear that Powell had access to the White House during the Eisenhower administration, something that he did not have with Truman. Of course, he had created his own persona non grata status with the Turman White House when he attempted to have his wife, Hazel Scott perform at the DAR hall in Washington. It seems that Powell was attempting to do another "Marian Anderson" event and failed. One can easily conclude that Powell enjoyed the access he had with Ike's staff and figured that Sstevenson was not going to win anyway, so Powell feathered his own nest. While he wanted the poublic to believe his endorsement was for the sake of Stevenson's poor stand on Civil Rights, it is more likely that Powell enjoyed and wanted to continue his access to power. Hamilton relates how Powell threatened to expose Bayard Rustin and Martin Luther King for an alleged homosexual relationship in order to force them to call off a demonstration at the Republican National Convention in 1960. Powell knew full well the accusations were false but the blackmail served his purpose. In 1966 Powell scuttled an attempt by James Farmer of CORE to establish a national literacy project. Hamilton argues that in return, Powell hoped to be given White House assistance in having his New York libel judgment reduced. As does Hay

Hamilton has done an extraordinary job with one of America's most enigmatic political figures. Representative Powell was a man hard to figure by anybody. A rascal, decried as a corrupt politician, loved by his constituents and vilified by much of the establishment.Powell was one of the century's (I guess that is now "last century's") first and longest serving African American members of Congress. He was on the forefront of the campaign against lynching. He brought the moral imperative of the Freedom Rides and the lunch counter sitins going on in the South to the major urban areas of the North.His position as a vociferous champion of civil rights (more than his indiscretions) led his colleagues in the House to try to oust him. When his constituents rejected this initiative and overwhelmingly returned him to Congress, he had to go the the Supreme Court for his right to continue service (even after being stripped of his seniority.Great history, and great reading. A thoroughly engaging subject. Even as an out-of-print book it is well worth waiting for.