In 1944, Adam Clayton Powell became the first black member of congress from New York. He remained in office until defeated by Charlie Rangel in 1970. After two decades in Congress, he grew careless with public money and failed to show up for committee hearings. Eventually, the corruption led to his ouster from congress. However, his constituents returned Powell in a special election. Despite returning to congress, he returned to his corrupt ways leading to his 1970 defeat.
By 1967, Powell had served 22 years in the House of Representatives. He was no longer the young, idealistic man who ran on an anti-lynching, pro-civil rights platform before it was fashionable. He seemed to feel entitled in his role as a committee chair. Many congressmen before and since have fallen into this trap.
The trappings of power snared Powell. Critics inside and outside of congress questioned Powell’s finances. He diverted funds, used taxpayer dollars to take expensive vacations, and sometimes did not show up for committee meetings. Rather than face his Harlem constituents, he retreated to Florida.
His opponents smelled blood and Powell provided more ammunition. The congressman refused to pay a slander judgment against him resulting in an arrest warrant. He had become an embarrassment to the Democratic Party and Harlem. Although the congress was an old boy’s club, its members expected a certain level of public decorum.
The house Democrats moved first. The leadership stripped Powell of his committee chairmanship. This is the equivalent of a political death sentence. The full house refused to seat Powell until an investigation completed. On March 1, 1967, the House of Representatives expelled Powell.
The disgraced congressman won the special election to fill the vacated seat. However, he did not take office pending the conclusion of Powell v. McCormack. Powell eventually returned to the House of Representatives following his 1968 general election victory. The house allowed him to take his seat, but stripped Powell of seniority and fined him $25,000.
After returning to congress, Powell became an increasingly absentee member. Harlem had enough. They circled the wagons behind Powell when they felt one of their own was under attack. When Charlie Rangel emerged to challenge Powell in the Democratic primary, voters had a genuine alternative. The Korean War hero Rangel defeated the disgraced incumbent in the primary. Powell failed to get the requisite signatures for a run as an independent and his congressional career ended in 1971. He died a year later.
Adam Clayton Powell is an example of power’s corrupting influence. He ran to fight for civil rights and grew corrupt over the course of 22 years. Congress and his own party disavowed Powell only to see him returned by the voters. Eventually, his constituents realized congress had been correct and removed him from office.
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