From Slave to State Legislator

As the first African American elected to the Illinois general assembly, John W. E. Thomas was the recognised leader of the states African American community for nearly twenty years and laid the groundwork for the success of future black leaders in Chicago politics. Despite his key role in the passage of Illinois first civil rights act and his commitment to improving his community against steep personal and political barriers, Thomass life and career have been long forgotten by historians and the public alike. This fascinating full-length biographythe first to address the full influence of Thomas or any black politician from Illinois during the Reconstruction Erais also a pioneering effort to explain the dynamics of African American politics and divisions within the black community in postCivil War Chicago. In From Slave to State Legislator, David A. Joens traces Thomass trajectory from a slave owned by a doctors family in Alabama to a prominent attorney believed to be the wealthiest African American man in Chicago at the time of his death in 1899. Providing one of the few comprehensive looks at African Americans in Chicago during this period, Joens reveals how Thomass career represents both the opportunities available to African Americans in the postwar period and the limits still placed on them. When Thomas moved to Chicago in 1869, he started a grocery store, invested in real estate, and founded the first private school for African Americans before becoming involved in politics. From Slave to State Legislator provides detailed coverage of Thomass three terms in the legislature during the 1870s and 1880s, his multiple failures to be nominated for reelection, and his loyalty to the Republican Party at great political cost, calling attention to the political differences within a black community often considered small and homogenous. Even after achieving his legislative legacythe passage of the first state civil rights lawThomas was plagued by patronage issues and an increasingly bitter split with the African American community frustrated with slow progress toward true equality. Drawing on newspapers and an array of government documents, Joens provides the most thorough review to date of the first civil rights legislation and the two controversial coloured conventions chaired by Thomas. Joens cements Thomass legacy as a committed and conscientious lawmaker amid political and personal struggles. In revealing the complicated rivalries and competing ambitions that shaped black northern politics during the Reconstruction Era, Joens shows the long-term impact of Thomass friendship with other burgeoning African American political stars and his work to get more black representatives elected. The volume is enhanced by short biographies of other key Chicago African American politicians of the era.