MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD, OREGON
Adam Clayton Powell II
Controversial Congresman Chooses
Negro Role; Can't Prove Blood Strain
TUESDAY, MAY 21. 1963
Editor not: On of ih
questions asked molt fre
quently by Tiiitori to Wash
ington U "What mak 'Con
griiiman X' the kind oi a
man h U?" Tha aniwnr ii
saldom simple. But navar is
it mora complicated than in
th case of Adam Clayton
Powell. Th following dis
patch, second in a series, tells
how Powell became a Negro
ladr and how it has affect
ad his life.
All
By LOUIS CASSELS
And
ARNOLD SAWISLAK
Washington - IIOT - When
Adam Clayton Powell was 12
years old, his family moved
to Harlem, where his father
was to serve for many years
as a Baptist minister.
"The first night we were
there," Powell recalled re
cently, "my mother sent me
to the drug store. A gang of
white boys waylaid me on
the street, and beat me up.
"The next night, I was sent
on another errand, and I took
a different route. This time
a gang of Negro boys beat
me up.
"The third night the white
boys grabbed me. again,. and
asked me 'Boy, what color
are you?'
"I was scared and didn't
know what to say so I just
told them the truth. 'I don't
know what I am,' I said. 'I'm
mixed.' So they beat me up
again for being mixed."
Powell laughed uproarious
ly as he told this anecdote
to UPI reporters in his con
gressional office. But there
.was a look in his eyes which
suggested the 12 - year - old
boy had not found the inci
dent so amusing.
Unsur of Ancestry
Although Powell has be
come the American Negro's
best known and most con
troversial spokesman in Con
gress, he is not at all sure
how much Negro blood is
actually in his veins, and any
uninstructed visitor would
almost certainly take him for
a white man.
At S4 he is a tall, slim
waisted. strikingly handsome
man with long wavy hair, a
neatly trimmed moustache,
and a complexion which
ranges from the shade of cof
fee with double cream to that
of weathered brass, depend
ing upon how much time he
has been spending in the sun
outside his beach home in
Puerto Rico.
On his desk is a family
photograph showing his fa
ther, mother and sister.
of them look white
"I couldn't prove that 1
have any Negro blood." Pow
ell said in reply to a direct
question about his ancestry.
Then he added:
"I am a Negro by choice."
Part of Answer
In that sentence lies part
of the explanation of Powell's
strong hold on the affections
of the Harlem constituents
who have elected him to Con
gress 10 times despite a suc
cession of scandals and accu
sations involving income tax
returns, trips at government
expense, relatives on the fed
eral payroll and other mat
ters. Powell is a man who could
pass for white - who, in fact,
was taken for white in college
- but who has deliberately
chosen to cast his lot with the
Negro race.
The decision may have cost
him something in terms of
private snubs or embarrass
ments. But it has been pro
fessionally and politically re
warding. Father Founds Church
Powell was born in New
Haven, Conn., Nov. 29, 1908.
But he has spent most of his
life in New York City, where
his father, the Rev. Adam
Clayton Powell Sr., built the
Abyssinian Baptist church
into one of the largest Prot
estant congregations in Amer
ica (about 10,000 members).
First located in downtown
Manhattan, the church was
transplanted to Harlem when
Adam Jr. was 12.
Young Powell grew up in
comfortable circumstances, at
tended good schools, was grad
uated from Colgate university
with an A.B. degree and went
on to get his master's from
Columbia. At 22, he became
assistant minister of his fa
ther's church. Seven years lat
er, he succeeded his father as
pastor of the Abyssinian Bap
tist church - a post which he
still holds despite a series of
marital troubles that have
shocked some of the church
elders.
Marries Three Times
Powell has had three wives.
The first, whom he wed in
1933, was Negro actress Isa
bel Washington. They were
divorced in 1945, and Powell
married pianist Hazel Scott.
They had a son, Adam Clay-
t o n Powell III, nicknamed
"Skipper," who has gladdened
his father's heart by compiling
a brilliant record in prep
school and winning admission
to MIT this fall.
The marriage to Miss Scott
ended in divorce in 1960, and
Powell married one of his con
gressional secretaries, a pret
ty Puerto Rican girl named
Yvette Diago.
Although both of Powell's
jobs - as minister and con
gressman - theoretically re
quire him to maintain his resi
dence in Harlem, h i s real
home these days is a $70,000
beach house near San Juan,
f TAURUS
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Puerto Rico, where he spends
as much time as possible with
Yvette and their infant son,
born last year.
Sparks Criticism
His frequent trips to Puerto
Rico, some at government ex
pense, and his very high ab
senteeism record (he missed
nearly half of the roll call
votes taken by the House dur
ing the past two sessions) have
been remarked upon unfavor
ably by his numerous critics,
in and out of Congress. But
evidently they have not dis
tressed either his constituents
or his congregation in Harlem.
Throughout his 19 years in
Congress, Powell has contin
ually sought - and often found
-dramatic ways to battle for
Negro rights. His favorite tac
tic has been introduction of
"The Powell Amendment" -prohibiting
federal aid to
states which draw the color
line in dispensing federal dollars.
Next: Powell replies to critici,
County Crews Work
On Road Projects
Recent hot, dry weather is
enabling county road crews to
catch up with their york, ac
cording to County Engineer
Robert J. Carstensen. .
"If weather remains good
the roads department will
starts its annual dust oiling
and start prime oiling on
those roads which it plans
to pave this season," Carsten
sen said.
Crews are grading the
south fork of Little Butte
Creek rd. about three miles
east of Lake Creek. A con
tractor is widening -the bridge
over Evans creek on the North
River rd. near Rogue River,
including construction of foot
ings, and bridge abutments.
Grading has been complet
ed on one mile of the Elk
Creek rd., north of Sugar Pine
creek; crews are reballasting
Lpart of Rogue River dr., a half
mile west o: Snady cove; ana
repair work is progressing on
Kane's Creek bridge, VA
miles south of Gold Hill. Tile
bridge went out during the
Dec. 2 flood.
The Anderson creek bridge
will be repaired as soon as a
crew is free, Carstensen said.
DROWNS IN BASIN
Seaview, Wash. - (UPI) - Rob
ert McAfee, 10, drowned Sun
day in the Ilwaco boat basin.
Quick! There's ah S-55 Merc.
id Car-spotters don't have time for second looks. An S-55 Merc is
. liable to have one of those big Marauder mills upfront (up to
425 horses). So look quick. . ; for the S-55 emblem on the rear
fender panel. Of course, if you happen to catch one standing
still (extremely rare), you can tell an S-55 by its lush, leathery
sports-bred interior. Very elegant (in a masculine way). And
' very Suggestive of what happens when this car goes var-o-o-o-m
i
The Family Council
Editor's not: The Family Council consist of a fudfe,
phychtumt, thre clertynten three editors ne a women's editor.
Karh article li a u miliary of ft family disagreement presented to the
Council. Tbe Council deals with problems, major and minor,
encountered by guidance counselors and social workers, tdlted by
Mrs, Alma Denny. (Couyrlsbt by General features Corp.)
Scholar Watching
A 3
Diversion Suggested To Make Ordeal
Of Graduation Exercises Bearable
Mrs. T. Y. - He's flunking.
The school wants him to go to
a clinic.
Mr. T, Y. - It's just adoles
cence. All he needs is some
tutoring.
Mrs. T. Y. - After distin
guishing himself in elemen
tary school, winning two priz
es at graduation, our 14-year-old
son got very bad marks
at the end of his first term
in high school. Because his
record shows a high I.Q., the
school psychologist called me
to his office to see if I could
explain why Joe is failing.
The only possible reason
seems to be that he misses
his cousin who moved to Can
ada. But they want us all to
report to a clinic.
Mr. T. Y. - It's true that
Joe is disappointed not to
have his cousin in his class
anymore. Herbie kept Joe on
his toes; they were friendly
rivals right through the lower
grades, each trying to come
out on top. But there's no need
for treating Joe as though he's
sick now. He just needs some
jacking-up on his Latin and
algebra. A few 100s on tests
will give him back his old
confidence. He's at a hard age.
...
Tha Council: Our advice tp
any family which is invited
to avail itself of the facilities
of a good guidance clinic is.
"Grab it!" Such clinics are
scarce, their waiting lists are
long, their services and re
sults are unobtainable e 1 s e
where at present. What are
their services? Above all, they
enable a teen-ager to "get it
out." Maybe Mr. Y. Is right,
and all Joe needs is some ex
perience with high marks in
high school. But, maybe there
is more than meets the eye,
more than Joe would ever tell
his parents, his cousin, his
best friend. These Youth
Counseling Centers have ther
apists who can draw out the
whole story, either through
talk, or through leading a
child to "act out" his true
feelings. Since parents also
are interviewed and guided
toward helpful handling of a
child's problems, Mr. and Mrs.
Y. will "have it made" if they
follow through. Joe may still
flunk and have to go to sum
mer school. But it's the sort
of flop that opens the way to
the top.
GP MAN CRASHES
Corvallis -(IPIU A helicop
ter pilot sustained only a
scratched finger when his
'copter crashed in heavy
brush in western Benton coun
ty Sunday, state police report
ed. James Taylor, 38, Grants
Pass, employed by Rcforesta
t i o n Service, Inc., Salem,
said the engine on his ma
chine suddenly went dead as
he was spraying brush north
east of Summit.
! i" "i
i -P.-,
By DICK WEST
Washington (UPU Invita
tions to spring graduation ex
ercises are falling around us
now like the
gentle rain
from heaven.
A person nev
er realizes
how many
n e p h ews he
has until the
com mence
m e n t season
begins. There
is, however, a
silver lining in this shower of
sheepskin importuning. In
most cases, we are not really
expected to attend.
The great aching void cre
ated by our absence can usu
ally be assuaged by a small
gift.
At times, of course, the cer
emony cannot be avoided. It
is to those of you who are
facing such an ordeal this
spring that I address this mes
sage. Talc heart, kind fritndi.
I may ba abla to point out
a way to mak it bearabl.
I have found that I can
better endure the gaseous ora
tions and the seemingly end
less processions by occupying
my mind with a pleasant little
diversion called "scholar
watching."
Scholar watching is closely
similar to bird watching. The
object is to see how many dif
ferent types of scholars you
can identify by their colors
and plumage.
I happen to have at hand
a scholar watcher's pocket
manual that I obtained from
the publishers of the Encyclo
pedia International. From it
I have gleaned a few tips that
you might find luseful.
Almost anyone who has
even been to a graduation
exercise can instantly recog
nize the familiar "black-tas-scled
bachelor.'' But, not ev
erybody can distinguish it
from the "black-tasscled mas
ter," which also is a fairly
common species.
Th trick i to study th, '
cut of their gowm. Th
bachelor has long ilevi
with cuffs that flair down
Into points, whareas t h
mailor has oblong sleavei
that ar open at th wrist.
The "gold-tasseled doctor"
also is easily spotted, but it
appears In a variety of sub
species that provide a real
challenge to the scholar watch-
,er.
Among those most often
found in the western hemis
phere are the "purple-hooded
lawyer," the "blue - hooded
philosopher," the "yellow
hooded scientist," the "pink
hooded musician" and the
"scarlet-hooded theologian."
The plumage of the doctor
ate genus is not always uni
form, hovever. You may see
a "scarlet-hooded theologian"
with scarlet bars on the gown.
On the other hand, the bars
may be black.
On rare occasions, the schol
ar watcher may spot a Euro
pean savant among the do
mestic flock. Most likely its
coloration will be richer and
more varied. But that doesn't
mean that it is any smarter.
As a matter of fact, a neo
phyte watcher should never
pttcmpt to identify scholars
by their I.Q. The one at the
bottom may be your sister's
oldest boy.
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