Born: November 29, 1908, New Haven, CT

Education: Colgate University, B.A., 1930; Columbia University, M.A., 1932

Died: April 14, 1972, Miami, FL

Pastor of Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church, known for saying “‘Keep the faith, baby,” Powell emerged politically following the Harlem Riot (1935). Job discrimination and police brutality against blacks fueled the riot, he preached, soon starting a newspaper column. He eventually won election to New York City Council (1941); co-created the weekly People's Voice; and organized black churches and civic organizations’ “Don't Buy Where You Can't Work” picket campaign. Powell also led fair employment marches to Harlem Hospital and Con Edison, furthering blacks’ demands for jobs and justice. He compelled the attention, respect, and support of Tammany Hall Democrats.

Elected to the House of Representatives in 1945, he was the first black congressman from the northeast and fourth (perhaps the most powerful) in the twentieth century. Powell served until 1970, except for a 1967–69 suspension owing to violations of House rules. The dismissal beclouds his invaluable legislative contributions as chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee (HELC) from 1961. For example, he maneuvered the Kennedy administration's minimum wage bill through a fierce southern opposition and gave the new president a crucial early victory. Indeed, Powell orchestrated fifty-nine other civil rights, education, health, and antipoverty bills of the Kennedy–Johnson administrations to passage.