Julius Hobson
Julius W. Hobson (May 29, 1919 — March 23, 1977) was the People's Party Vice Presidential candidate in 1972. Benjamin Spock was the People's Party Presidential candidate. They polled 0.1014% of the popular vote and no electoral votes.[1]
Hobson was also a "key early founder" of the D.C. Statehood Party. In 1971, he ran as a member of the party to be the District's delegate to the House of Representatives but lost to Democrat Walter E. Fauntroy.[2] Hobson was elected in 1974 as one of the at-large members of the Council of the District of Columbia at its creation, and he served in that position until his death in 1977.[3]
Quotes [edit]
Hobson quotations from Sam Smith's "Captive Capital"[4]
On democracy: "In this country, you don't have any democracy really. You have the right to elect but not to select. For example, here's two people: you get to vote for one of them. But you didn't choose in the first place either of them. That's not democracy from what I understand."[citation needed]
On being a politician: "I am not a politician. A politician is someone who does things to get elected. He's a guy who says things to please the public, that he thinks the public wants to hear, and his story changes with every passing day. I want to be elected, but I am not going to say a damn thing for your benefit, or that person's benefit out there on the street, or anybody's."[citation needed]
On a local black minister: "I was asked to speak at his church one Sunday. I went over there and when I went there I looked over the congregation. I would say the average person in there had on a pair of Thom McAn shoes, that their suits cost an average $35 a piece, that their shirts were from Hechts basements and that they were very poor and very illiterate - almost illiterate - people who were emotionally shocked just came to the church to let out this scream. [The minister] took up a love offering, he took up a minister's travel offering and then he took up a regular - he took up five or six offerings. So when he got to me to speak, I got up and said, 'God d*** it, if this is christianity, I want no part of it.' And 'this s** of a b**** is stealing from you and the thing is, he's not just stealing your money, he's stealing your minds. And I refuse to be a part of this.' And I walked off."[citation needed]
References [edit]
- ^ "American Presidential Elections 1932-2000". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 2005-12-17. Retrieved 2008-05-15.
- ^ "Fauntroy Election Certified". The Washington Post. 1971-04-06. p. C6. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
- ^ "Historical Elected Officials: At-Large Member of the Council of the District of Columbia". District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics. Archived from the original on July 9, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
- ^ Smith, Sam (1974). Captive Capital: colonial life in modern Washington (First edition ed.). Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. p. 303 pages. ISBN 0-253-11070-X.
External links [edit]
- "Guide to the Papers of Julius Hobson" Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library Washingtoniana Division
- Election results (Encyclopædia Britannica)[dead link]
- Julius W. Hobson, Jr. - Washington lobbyist
| Council of the District of Columbia | ||
|---|---|---|
| First group of four
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At-Large Member, Council of the District of Columbia 1975 – 1977 |
Succeeded by Hilda Mason |
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- 1919 births
- 1977 deaths
- African-American politicians
- African-American United States vice-presidential candidates
- American civil rights activists
- American communists
- D.C. Statehood Green Party politicians
- People's Party (United States, 1971) politicians
- United States vice-presidential candidates, 1972
- Washington, D.C. City Council members
