biography
| name: |
Dawson, William Levi
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1886–1970)
|
| biography:
| US representative, born in Albany, Georgia, USA. The grandson of slaves, he worked as a hotel porter while earning his law degree in Chicago (1920). A Chicago alderman (1933–9), he became a Democrat and served in Congress (1943–70). Although he opposed the poll tax and worked for fair employment practices, he was more of a party loyalist than civil rights activist, supporting Richard Daley over a reform mayor in 1955, and delivering Chicago's black vote to President Kennedy in 1960. |
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