Augustus Hawkins: Difference between revisions

Hawkins was born in [[Shreveport, Louisiana]], the youngest of five children, to Nyanza Hawkins and Hattie Freeman. In 1918, the family moved to Los Angeles.<ref name=LAT_Obit/><ref>{{cite book|last=Sides|first=Josh|title=L.A. City Limits: African American Los Angeles from the Great Depression to the Present|year=2003|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley and Los Angeles|page=15}}</ref> Hawkins graduated from [[Jefferson High School (Los Angeles)|Jefferson High School]] in 1926, and received a bachelor's degree in economics from the [[University of California, Los Angeles]] in 1931.<ref>Shirley Washington, Outstanding African Americans of Congress (Washington, DC: United States Capitol Historical Society, 1998): 39.</ref> After graduation, he planned to study [[civil engineering]], but the financial constraints of the [[Great Depression]] made this impossible. This contributed towards his interest in politics, and his lifelong devotion to education. After graduating, Hawkins operated a real -estate company with his brother and studied government.<ref name="bio">{{cite web|url=http://baic.house.gov/member-profiles/profile.html?intID=30 |title=Augustus Freeman (Gus) Hawkins |work=Black Americans in Congress |author=Office of the Clerk |author-link=Office of the Clerk |publisher=[[United States House of Representatives]] |access-date=2010-08-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100804042110/http://baic.house.gov/member-profiles/profile.html?intID=30 |archive-date=August 4, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> While serving in the [[California State Assembly]], Hawkins married Pegga Adeline Smith on August 28, 1945. Smith died in 1966, and Hawkins later married Elsie Taylor in 1977.<ref>Washington, Outstanding African Americans of Congress, 39–40; “Hawkins"Hawkins, Augustus,”" Current Biography, 1983: 176–179.</ref> After retiring from Congress, he stayed in the Washington area because his wife preferred it, living there until his death, which came two months after hers.<ref name=LAT_Obit/>

An [[African Americans|African American]] of mixed-race ancestry, Hawkins was very fairlight-skinned and reportedly resembled his [[English people|English]] grandfather.<ref name="bio" /> Throughout his life, he was often assumed to be of solely white ancestry, thoughalthough he refused to [[passing (racial identity)|pass as white]].<ref name="light">{{cite news|url=https://articles.latimes.com/1989-09-28/news/vw-445_1_black-people|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305204023/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-09-28-vw-445-story.html|archive-date=5 March 2021|title= Mistaken Identities: And in America, Light-Skinned Blacks Are Acutely Aware That Race Still Matters to Many People|author=May, Lee|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=September 28, 1989|access-date=2010-08-12}}</ref><ref name=LAT_Obit>{{cite webjournal|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-nov-13-me-hawkins13-story.html|journal=Los Angeles Times|author=Claudia Luther and Valerie J. Nelson|title=A pioneer for black lawmakers in L.A.|date=13 November 2007|access-date=September 17, 2021}}</ref>

Augustus Hawkins succeeded Republican [[Frederick Madison Roberts]] who served in Californiathe atCalifornia aAssembly timefor16 whenyears. blackBlack representation was so limited that "the black strategy for gaining political power was to exercise influence within the Democratic Party through voting for, and lobbying, white politicians."<ref name="Sides 2003 154">{{cite book|last=Sides|first=Josh|title=L.A. City Limits: African American Los Angeles from the Great Depression to the Present|year=2003|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley and Los Angeles|page=154}}</ref> Aside from Hawkins, "Los Angeles blacks had no other political representative in city, county, state, or federal government."<ref name="Sides 2003 154"/>

Hawkins was part of a more general shift by African Americans away from the Republican and towards the Democratic Party.<ref name="Sides 2003 33">{{cite book|last=Sides|first=Josh|title=L.A. City Limits: African American Los Angeles from the Great Depression to the Present|year=2003|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley and Los Angeles|page=33}}</ref> Unlike the majority of African Americans, he supported [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]'s campaign for president in [[1932 United States presidential election|1932]]. Hawkins favored measures such as the [[New Deal]], which was wildly popular in the United States at large and the African -American community in particular. Roosevelt would go on to be the first Democratic president to win the black vote, in [[1936 United States presidential election|1936]]. In 1934, Hawkins supported the more controversial [[California gubernatorial election, 1934|1934 California gubernatorial election]] of [[Upton Sinclair]], a socialist. Although Sinclair lost, Hawkins defeated [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[Frederick Madison Roberts]], the great-grandson of [[Sally Hemings]] and President [[Thomas Jefferson]] and the first African American in the California State Assembly. Hawkins would serve as a Democratic member of the Assembly from 1935 until 1963,; by the time of his departure, Hawkins beingwas the Assembly's most senior member, likeas Roberts was before him.

Hawkins's district was primarily Latino American and African American. During his time in the Assembly, he introduced legislation including "a [[Housing discrimination in the United States|fair housing act]], a fair employment practices act, low-cost housing and disability insurance legislation, and workers’workers' compensation provisions for domestic workers."<ref name=LAT_Obit/><ref name="bio" /> Along with education, fair practices in employment and housing became Hawkins's major causes. He received little support at the time for these measures from the Democratic Party, however.<ref name="Sides 2003 33"/> Nevertheless, he was able to get some measures passed, including his fair -housing law, which prohibited discrimination by any builders whothat received federal funds.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sides|first=Josh|title=L.A. City Limits: African American Los Angeles from the Great Depression to the Present|year=2003|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley and Los Angeles|page=107}}</ref> Hawkins was also a delegate to the National Conventions of [[1940 Democratic National Convention|1940]], [[1944 Democratic National Convention|1944]] and [[1960 Democratic National Convention|1960]], as well as an [[United States Electoral College|electoral college]] presidential elector from California in [[1944 United States presidential election|1944]]. In 1958, Hawkins sought to be [[Speaker of the California State Assembly]], which was the second -most powerful position in the state, after the [[Governor of California]]. Hawkins lost to [[Ralph M. Brown]], but was made chairman of the powerful rulesRules committeeCommittee.<ref>“Still"Still Seeks Assembly Post, Hawkins Says,”" November 14, 1958, Los Angeles Times: 6</ref><ref name=LAT_Obit/> Had Hawkins succeeded, he would have beenbecome the first African -American Speaker in CalifornianCalifornia history., a feat that [[Willie Brown (politician)|Willie Brown]] would achieve this feat in 1980. In 1962, Hawkins won a newly created majority-black congressional district encompassing central Los Angeles<ref>Gladwin Hill, “16"16 Men Battling in California for Eight New Seats in House,”" October 20, 1962, New York Times: 10</ref> With an endorsement from [[John F. Kennedy]], Hawkins easily won the primary and the general election. After the election, Hawkins remarked, “It"It's like shifting gears—from the oldest man in the Assembly in years of service to a freshman in Congress.”"<ref>“Negro"Negro, Congress-Bound, Loath to Leave State,”" November 8, 1962, Los Angeles Times: 16.</ref>

From 1963 to 1991, Hawkins represented California's 21st District (1963–1975), and the 29th District (1975–1991), covering southern Los Angeles County, in Congress. Hawkins was consistently elected with over 80% of the vote in his Democratic-friendly district. He was the first black representative to be elected from west of the [[Mississippi River]].<ref name="bio" />

Hawkins was a strong supporter of President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]'s [[Great Society]]. Early in his congressional career, he authored legislation including [[Title VII]] of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] that established the [[Equal Employment Opportunity Commission]]. Hawkins was a strong supporter of civil rights, and he toured the South in 1964 to advocate for African-American [[voter registration]].<ref>Drew Pearson, “Negro"Negro Congressman Tours South,”" August 5, 1964, Los Angeles Times: A6.</ref>

Five days after the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]] was signed into law, the [[Watts Riots]] occurred in Hawkins's district. It was the first of [[Long Hot Summer of 1967|many]] [[race riot]]s in the 1960s. Hawkins urged his colleagues in Congress to increase antipoverty funds, but he did not condone the violence.<ref>Peter Bart, “Officials"Officials Divided in Placing Blame,”" August 15, 1965, New York Times: 81.</ref> Due to his light skin and heightened racial tensions, Hawkins had to be careful when he visited his district shortly after the riots.<ref name="light" /> The riots stalled the Great Society, particularly over the fair housing; blacks who benefited from Great Society laws were blamed as being harmful to the "law and order" of America, particularly if they were allowed to live next to whites. Fair housing was still an unpopular issue in America: Democratic Senate nominee [[Pierre Salinger]] lost to Republican [[George Murphy]] in California over the issue, marking the only Republican pickup amid Lyndon Johnson's [[1964 United States presidential election|crushing presidential victory]] over anti-civilCivil Rights rightsAct [[Barry Goldwater]] in 1964. Open housing reform seemed next on the Great Society list after the Voting Rights Act was signed, but the Watts Riot put it on hold. It was not passed until after the [[Civil Rights Act of 1968|1968]] [[Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.|assassination of]] [[Martin Luther King Jr.]]

On the [[Vietnam War]], Hawkins initially agreed with President Johnson. In 1964, both insisted that the war undermined the Great Society and that the United States could not "impose our way of life on other people."<ref>Augustus Hawkins, Oral History Interview: 18.</ref> When it became clear that South Vietnam was not stable enough to survive without American backing, Hawkins increased his criticism of the war. After touring South Vietnam June 1970, Hawkins and fellow Democratic Representative [[William Anderson (naval officer)|William Anderson]] drafted a House Resolution urging Congress to "condemn the cruel and inhumane treatment" of prisoners in South Vietnam.<ref name="bio"/> Anderson and Hawkins had visited South Vietnam with nine other congressmen, but they were the only two to visit a civilian South Vietnamese prison on [[Con Son Island]], which they described as being akin to “tiger"tiger cages.”"<ref>[[Gloria Emerson]], “Americans"Americans Find Brutality in South Vietnamese Jail,”" July 7, 1970, New York Times: 3; George C. Wilson, “S"S. Viet Prison Found 'Shocking',”" July 7, 1970, Washington Post: A1.</ref> The two Representatives also pressured President Nixon to send an independent task force to investigate the prison and “prevent"prevent further degradation and death.”"<ref>Felix Belair, Jr., “House"House Panel Urges U.S. to Investigate 'Tiger Cage' Cells,”" July 14, 1970, New York Times: 1.</ref>

Hawkins was a founding member of the [[Congressional Black Caucus]], and served as vice chairman during its first term (1971–1973).<ref name="bio" /><ref name=LAT_Obit/> Hawkins did not play a significant role in the CBC, as he preferred to focus on legislation rather than use Congress as a [[bully pulpit]] like other African Americans such as [[Adam Clayton Powell Jr.]], [[Bill Clay]], and [[Ron Dellums]]; Hawkins argued that there needed to be “clearer"clearer thinking and fewer exhibitionists in the civil rights movement.”"<ref>“Augustus"Augustus F. Hawkins,”" Politics in America, 1989 (Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Inc., 1988): 181.</ref> During this time, Hawkins succeeded in restoring honorable discharges to the 170 black soldiers of the 25th Infantry Regiment who had been falsely accused of a public disturbance in [[Brownsville, Texas]], in 1906, and removed from the Army.<ref>John Dreyfuss, “Waiting"Waiting Pays Off,”" April 19, 1973, Los Angeles Times: A3.</ref> Unlike other CBC members, he sought cooperation from [[organized labor]] and [[white ethnics]] in order to make his agenda more likely to pass into law.<ref>Augustus Hawkins, Oral History Interview: 20; “Hawkins"Hawkins, Augustus,”" Current Biography, 1983: 177.</ref> In 1980, Hawkins criticized the CBC as "85 percent social and 15 percent business."<ref>Jacqueline Trescott, “Caucus"Caucus Critiques,”" September 27, 1980, Washington Post: D1.</ref>

Aside from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, laws that Hawkins was instrumental in passing include: the 1974 [[Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act]], a law whichthat providesprovided certain protections to young criminal offenders; the 1978 [[Comprehensive Employment and Training Act]]; and the 1978 Pregnancy Disability Act, which aimed to prevent discrimination against women on the basis of pregnancy and of which Hawkins said, “we"we have the opportunity to ensure that genuine equality in the American labor force is more than an illusion and that pregnancy will no longer be the basis of unfavorable treatment of working women."<ref>Congressional Record, House, 95th Cong., second sess. (18 July 1978): 21435.</ref><ref>Washington, Outstanding African Americans of Congress: 42–43.</ref> Hawkins is known best of all for the 1978 [[Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment Act]], which Hawkins sponsored in 1977 alongside the legendary Senator [[Hubert Humphrey]] of [[Minnesota]]. The Billbill gave the U.S. government the goal toof provideproviding full employment; it also ordered that the Chairman of the [[Federal Reserve Board]] must provide Congress with testimony on the state of the economy. However, by the time itthat the bill made it to President [[Jimmy Carter]]'s desk, "the legislation was clearly symbolic."<ref>Jacqueline Trescott, “The"The Long Haul of Rep. Gus Hawkins; At 83, the Steady Champion of Civil Rights Is Retiring From a Battle That Won't End,”" October 24, 1990, Washington Post: D1</ref><ref>Edward Walsh, “Humphrey–Hawkins"Humphrey–Hawkins Measure Is Signed by the President,”" October 28, 1978, Washington Post: A9</ref><ref>“President"President Signs Symbolic Humphrey–Hawkins Bill,”" October 28, 1978, Los Angeles Times: 17.</ref> Hawkins later authored landmark legislation such as the [[Job Training Partnership Act of 1982|Job Training Partnership Act]] and the 1988 School Improvement Act. He became chair of the [[United States House Committee on Education and Labor|House Education and Labor Committee]] in 1984.

Hawkins was frustrated from the relative lack of success that he achieved during the 1980s' presidencies of [[Ronald Reagan]] and George H. W. Bush. They were the most conservative presidents since the 1920s, and members of his own party were moving to the right and viewed Hawkins's old-school New Dealer stance as outdated.<ref name="bio" /> His greatest setback was [[George H. W. Bush]]'s veto of the Civil Rights Act of 1990, sometimes called the Hawkins-[[Edward Kennedy|Kennedy]] Civil Rights Act. It would have reversed six [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] decisions made in the previous year that had shifted the burden of proof of discriminating hiring practices of minorities or women from the employer to the employee. It remains the only successful veto of a civil rights act in United States history. Hawkins retired in January 1991. Bush would sign a less expansive bill, the [[Civil Rights Act of 1991]], after Hawkins's retirement.<ref name="bio" />

Hawkins retired in 1991 to his Los Angeles home, having never having lost an election in 58 years as an elected official. He lived in Washington, D.C., for the remainder of his life. Until his 2007 death at the [[centenarian|age of 100]], he was the oldest living person to have served in Congress. He was the eighth person to have served in Congress that reached the age of 100. Hawkins's death left the former [[Alabama]] [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] Representative [[Arthur Glenn Andrews]] (1909–2008) as the oldest living former House member.

The [[Augustus F. Hawkins Nature Park]] was built in 2000 in a highly urbanized area of southsouthern Los Angeles.<ref name="NYTimes">{{Cite news|last=Brown|first=Patricia Leigh|date=2000-12-28|title=A Park Offers Nature, Not Just Hoops (Published 2000)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/28/garden/a-park-offers-nature-not-just-hoops.html|access-date=2020-10-28|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="PropO">{{Cite web|url=http://cd12.lacity.org/communityguide/cd12communityguide235736557_03242006.pdf|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726105859/http://cd12.lacity.org/communityguide/cd12communityguide235736557_03242006.pdf|url-status=dead|title=Proposition O Call for Projects, City of Los Angeles – Proposition O Citizens Oversight Advisory Committee, p. 3, 2005|archivedate=July 26, 2011}}</ref> The cost was $4.5 million and was financed largely by city, county, and state bond measures.<ref name="NYTimes" /> The park encompasses 8.5 acres and features the Evan Frankel Discovery Center, which includes natural history and environmental interpretive displays.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lamountains.com/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510154044/http://www.lamountains.com/parks.asp?parkid=2|url-status=dead|title=Lamountains|archivedate=May 10, 2013|website=Lamountains}}</ref> [https://www2.ed.gov/programs/afhce/index.html?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term= The Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence Program] is a federal grants program supporting diversification of the U.S. teaching force.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-08-03 |title=Augustus F. Hawkins Center of Excellence (Hawkins) Program |url=https://www2.ed.gov/programs/afhce/index.html?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term= |access-date=2023-03-14 |website=www2.ed.gov |language=en}}</ref>

[[Augustus F. Hawkins High School]] in Los Angeles, which opened in 2012, is named in his honor.

[[Category:20th-century American politicianslegislators]]

[[Category:American men centenarians]]

[[Category:21st20th-century African-AmericanCalifornia peoplepoliticians]]