House of Diggs
The Rise and Fall of America's Most Consequential Black Congressman, Charles C. Diggs Jr.
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House of Diggs
The Rise and Fall of America's Most Consequential Black Congressman, Charles C. Diggs Jr.
About this book
At the height of the civil rights movement, Charles C. Diggs Jr. (1922–1998) was the consummate power broker. In a political career spanning 1951 to 1980, Diggs, Michigan’s first Black member of Congress, was the only federal official to attend the trial of Emmett Till’s killers, worked behind the scenes with Martin Luther King Jr., and founded the Congressional Black Caucus. He was also the chief architect of legislation that restored home rule to Washington, DC, and almost single-handedly ignited the American anti-apartheid movement in the 1960s. Drawing on extensive archival research, including Diggs’s rarely seen personal papers, FBI documents, and original interviews with family members and political associates, political scientist Marion Orr reveals that Diggs practiced a politics of strategic moderation. Orr argues that this quiet approach was more effective than the militant race politics practiced by Adam Clayton Powell and more appealing than the conservative Chicago-style approach of William Dawson—two of Diggs’s better-known Black contemporaries.
Vividly written and deeply researched, House of Diggs is the first biography of Congressman Charles C. Diggs Jr., one of the most consequential Black federal legislators in US history. Congressman Diggs was a legislative lion whose unfortunate downfall punctuated his distinguished career and pushed him and his historic accomplishments out of sight. Now, for the first time, House of Diggs restores him to his much-deserved place in the history of American politics.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover Page
- Halftitle Page
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Prologue
- Abbreviations
- Introduction. Charles C. Diggs Jr. and the Politics of Strategic Moderation
- 1. From the Delta to Detroit
- 2. Growing Up in Black Detroit
- 3. Lieutenant Diggs in the Jim Crow South
- 4. A Reluctant Politician
- 5. Political Ambitions: A Close Run for City Council
- 6. I Could Beat This Guy
- 7. The Battle for Control of the House
- 8. Aboard the Diggs’s Special: The Arrival of a New Black Congressman
- 9. Returning to the Delta
- 10. On the Scene: Diggs at the Trial of Emmett Till’s Murderers
- 11. Desegregating Commercial Air Travel
- 12. Fighting Discrimination in the US Military: On-Base and Off-Base
- 13. Brothers in the Struggle: Diggs and Martin Luther King Jr.
- 14. The Founding of the Congressional Black Caucus
- 15. The 1972 National Black Political Convention
- 16. Restoring Home Rule in Washington, DC
- 17. Learning about and Discovering Africa
- 18. Awakening America: Diggs and the Africa Subcommittee
- 19. Mr. Africa
- 20. The Fall of the House of Diggs
- 21. The Chairman’s Portrait and the Indictment of Congressman Diggs
- 22. The Trial
- 23. Diggs Meets Newt
- Conclusion. After Congress
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgments
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index