William L. Dawson (politician)

In 1952, Dawson was the featured speaker at the first annual conference of the [[Regional Council of Negro Leadership]] (a civil rights organization), held in the all-black town of [[Mound Bayou, Mississippi]]. He was invited by Dr. [[T.R.M. Howard]], who headed the RCNL. Dawson was the first black congressman to speak in the state since [[Reconstruction Era|Reconstruction]] ended in 1877.

In 1952, Dawson was the featured speaker at the first annual conference of the [[Regional Council of Negro Leadership]] (a civil rights organization), held in the all-black town of [[Mound Bayou, Mississippi]]. He was invited by Dr. [[T.R.M. Howard]], who headed the RCNL. Dawson was the first black congressman to speak in the state since [[Reconstruction Era|Reconstruction]] ended in 1877.

Dawson, a member of the [[Democratic National Committee]] (DNC), had the long-term goal of increasing national black support for the party. Since the [[Civil War (United States)|Civil War]], most blacks had been allied with the Republican Party, as it had emancipated the slaves and led the movement for amendments to grant them citizenship and the franchise. T.R.M. Howard, who had moved to Chicago, challenged Dawson as a Republican opponent in the 1958 election, but Dawson won and kept his seat.<ref>David T. Beito and Linda Royster Beito, ''Black Maverick: T.R.M. Howard's Fight for Civil Rights and Economic Power'' (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2009), 54-57, 78, 80, 174-88.</ref>

Dawson, a member of the [[Democratic National Committee]] (DNC), had the long-term goal of increasing national black support for the party. Since the [[Civil War (United States)|Civil War]], most blacks had been allied with the Republican Party, as it had emancipated the slaves and led the movement for amendments to grant them citizenship and the franchise. T.R.M. Howard, who had moved to Chicago, challenged Dawson as a Republican opponent in the 1958 election, but Dawson won and kept his seat.<ref>{{cite book | last=Beito | first=David T. |author2=Beito, Linda Royster |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/T_R_M_Howard/fy_dEAAAQBAJ?hl=en | title=T.R.M. Howard: Doctor, Entrepreneur, Civil Rights Pioneer | edition=First | pages=54-57, 78, 80, 174-188| location=Oakland | publisher=Institute | year=2018 | isbn=978-1-59813-312-7 }}</ref>

Dawson was the first African American to serve as the chairman of a regular congressional committee beginning in 1949, leading the [[United States House Committee on Government Reform|Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments]] in the [[Eighty-first United States Congress|Eighty-first]] and [[Eighty-second United States Congress|Eighty-second Congresses]]<!-- add year for those of us who do not count time by congresses -->. He chaired its successor, the [[U.S. House Committee on Government Operations|Committee on Government Operations]], in the [[Eighty-fourth United States Congress|Eighty-fourth]] through [[Ninety-first United States Congress|Ninety-first Congresses]]. For years he and [[Adam Clayton Powell Jr.]] from [[Harlem, New York]], were the only two African-American representatives in Congress.

Dawson was the first African American to serve as the chairman of a regular congressional committee beginning in 1949, leading the [[United States House Committee on Government Reform|Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments]] in the [[Eighty-first United States Congress|Eighty-first]] and [[Eighty-second United States Congress|Eighty-second Congresses]]<!-- add year for those of us who do not count time by congresses -->. He chaired its successor, the [[U.S. House Committee on Government Operations|Committee on Government Operations]], in the [[Eighty-fourth United States Congress|Eighty-fourth]] through [[Ninety-first United States Congress|Ninety-first Congresses]]. For years he and [[Adam Clayton Powell Jr.]] from [[Harlem, New York]], were the only two African-American representatives in Congress.