William L. Dawson (politician), Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

William L. Dawson (politician)

American politician

Date of Birth: 26-Apr-1886

Place of Birth: Albany, Georgia, United States

Date of Death: 09-Nov-1970

Profession: lawyer, politician

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Taurus

William Levi Dawson (April 26, 1886 – November 9, 1970) was an American politician who represented a Chicago, Illinois district for more than 27 years in the United States House of Representatives, serving from 1943 to his death in office in 1970.
Like his two predecessors representing Illinois' 1st District, when Dawson was elected, he was the only African American in Congress.
In the 1940s, he was active in the civil rights movement and sponsored registration drives.
In the late 1940s he successfully opposed efforts to re-segregate the military.
Dawson was the first African American to chair a committee in the United States Congress, when he chaired the Committee on Expenditures in Executive Departments.
He served as Chair of that committee and its successor for most of the years between 1949 and 1970. After 1952 Dawson became closely aligned with the Democratic city machine in Chicago, collaborating often with Mayor Richard J.
Daley.
In this role, he focused on patronage for his constituents.
He gave no support to the efforts of Martin Luther King Jr.
to shake up city politics in the 1960s by demonstrating for fair housing.