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Adelbert H. Roberts

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Adelbert H. Roberts
Roberts in 1925 as State Senator
Member of the Illinois Senate
In office
1924–1934
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives
In office
1918–1920
Personal details
Born(1866-08-20)August 20, 1866
Decatur, Michigan
DiedJanuary 26, 1937(1937-01-26) (aged 70)
Chicago, Illinois
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Lula Wiley
(m. 1895)
Children4
Education
OccupationLawyer, politician

Adelbert H. Roberts (August 20, 1866 – January 26, 1937) was an American politician who in 1924 became the first African American to serve in the Illinois Senate.

Biography

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Roberts was born August 20, 1866, in Decatur, Michigan.[1] He graduated from high school at 17 and became a teacher. He then chose to take Ph.D. coursework at University of Michigan before attending Northwestern University School of Law. In 1895, he married Lula Wiley with whom he would have four children.[2]

In 1918, Roberts was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives as a Republican. After the Chicago race riot of 1919, Governor Frank Orren Lowden's appointed Roberts to the Chicago Commission on Race Relations created in response to the incident.[3] He was appointed to the Illinois Senate in 1924 to fill a vacancy and elected to the Senate in 1926 and 1930. During his tenure, he was a resident of the Douglas community area.[1]

Roberts died January 26, 1937, in Chicago. He was survived by Lula and two of his sons.[4]

In 1984, Senator Margaret Smith and Representative Howard B. Brookins Sr. successfully campaigned to have a statue of Roberts installed in the Capitol rotunda.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b Illinois Blue Book 1933–1934. p. 121.
  2. ^ "Illinois Blue Book". 1925.
  3. ^ a b Gherardini, Caroline, ed. (February 1984). "Honors". Illinois Issues. Vol. 9, no. 2. Springfield, Illinois: Sangamon State University. p. 41. ISSN 0738-9663. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
  4. ^ "A.H. Roberts, 1st Negro in State Senate, is Dead". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. January 28, 1937. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
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