Charles W. Anderson Jr. (May 26, 1907 – June 14, 1960) was a lawyer, state legislator and civil rights leader in Kentucky. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1935 until 1946.
Charles W. Anderson Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives | |
| In office 1935–1946 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 26, 1907 Louisville, Kentucky |
| Died | June 14, 1960 (aged 53) Shelby County, Kentucky |
| Resting place | Eastern Cemetery |
| Political party | Republican |
Biography
editAnderson was born May 26, 1907, in Louisville, Kentucky to Dr. Charles W. Anderson and Tabitha Murphy Anderson.[1] His father was a doctor and his mother a schoolteacher.[2] He attended Kentucky State College (now Kentucky State University)[3] and graduated from Wilberforce University in Ohio before moving to Washington, D.C to obtain his law degree from Howard University School of Law.[1]
Anderson returned to Kentucky and was admitted to the bar February 1932.[4] He then started his own law practice in Louisville in 1933.[5] Around this time he became president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.[6]
In April 1935 Anderson decided to run for a seat in the Kentucky House representing the fifty-eighth district.[6] He was a Republican[7] and ran against four Democrats: Charles E. Tucker, Rev. Ernest Grundy, Dr. Richard P. Beckman and James D. Bailey.[1] Anderson won the seat and was the only Republican to be elected to represent Jefferson County that session, a first for many years.[8] He was the first African-American to be elected into the Kentucky legislature.[9] He went on to serve six two-year sessions in total from 1935 until 1946.[9]
Anderson worked to pass legislation outlawing public hanging in Kentucky and to provide state aid for African Americans seeking higher degrees out-of-state due to Kentucky segregation laws.[3][1] He also passed legislation equalizing the pay of teachers independent of skin color and allowing women to keep their positions as public school teachers after marriage.[5] He helped establish new African American units in the Kentucky National Guard for the first time.[5] While he was a representative he was one of several African-American lawyers to appeal the hanging of Rainey Bethea, who was the last person publicly executed in the United States,[10] but on August 10, 1936, he announced that all appeals had been exhausted.[11]
Anderson served as president of the National Negro Bar Association for two terms starting in 1943.[2] U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed him an alternate delegate to the United Nations in the 1950s, and he served as the president of Louisville's NAACP branch.[7]
Anderson resigned from his seat in the house in 1946 to become the Assistant Commonwealth Attorney for Jefferson County, another first for an African-American in Kentucky.[12][3] Three years later in 1949 he was nominated for the position of judge for the third municipal district, but was narrowly defeated at the election.[12]
Anderson had two children with his second wife.[3] His half-sister Florence was an educator.[13]
Death
editAnderson was killed June 14, 1960 when his car was hit by a train at a crossing in Shelby County.[14] He was buried at Eastern Cemetery.[14] There is a historical marker in Louisville (No. 1964) marking his as the first African American elected in the state.[2][15]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Anderson, Charles W., Jr. · Notable Kentucky African Americans Database". nkaa.uky.edu. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- ^ a b c Talbott, Tim. "Charles W. Anderson, Jr". ExploreKYHistory.
- ^ a b c d site, Who made this (September 9, 2019). "Project Name".
- ^ "36 Pass Bar Exams". The Lexington Herald. 20 February 1932. p. 4. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
- ^ a b c "Collection: Charles W. Jr. and Victoria McCall Anderson papers | U of L Archives Catalog". archivescatalog.library.louisville.edu. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
- ^ a b "Charles W. Anderson Jr. - Announces Candidacy". The Courier-Journal. 5 April 1935. p. 14. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
- ^ a b "This Black History Month, we honor 29 African American history makers from Kentucky". The Courier-Journal.
- ^ "Democrats to Find Majority in House Reduced at Next Session". The Park City Daily News. 10 November 1935. p. 9. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
- ^ a b "Obituary for CHARLES W. ANDERSON JR". The Minneapolis Star. 15 June 1960. p. 30. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- ^ "Bethea, Rainey · Notable Kentucky African Americans Database". nkaa.uky.edu. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
- ^ "Bethea Lawyers plan no further legal movements". The Park City Daily News. 10 August 1936. p. 1. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
- ^ a b "Charles W Anderson KY Negro Legislator Killed Wreck in Shelby Co, KY June 14, 1960". The Paducah Sun. 15 June 1960. p. 8. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- ^ "Muir, Florence G. Anderson · Notable Kentucky African Americans Database". nkaa.uky.edu.
- ^ a b "Death of Anderson Is Called Great Loss". The Courier-Journal. 16 June 1960. p. 6. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- ^ "Charles W. Anderson, Jr. Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org.