Diggs, Charles C., 1922-1998

DIGGS, Charles Coles, Jr., a Representative from Michigan; born in Detroit, Wayne County, Mich., December 2, 1922; attended the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich., 1940-1942; attended Fisk University, Nashville, Tenn., 1942; United States Army, 1943-1945; graduated from Wayne College of Mortuary Science, Detroit, Mich., 1946; licensed mortician and board chairman of the House of Diggs, Inc.; attended Detroit College of Law, 1950; member of the Michigan state senate, 1951-1954; elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-fourth Congress, reelected to the twelve succeeding Congresses and served until his resignation (January 3, 1955-June 3, 1980); censured by the U.S. House of Representatives on July 31, 1979, for multiple convictions of mail fraud and payroll fraud; chairman, Committee on District of Columbia (Ninety-third through Ninety-fifth Congresses); operated a funeral home business in Prince George's County, Md.; died on August 24, 1998, in Washington, D.C.; interment in Detroit Memorial Park East, Warren, Macomb County, Mich.

<p>Elected to the House of Representatives in 1954 at age 31, Charles C. Diggs, Jr., was the first African American to represent Michigan in Congress. Despite his reserved demeanor, Diggs served as an ardent supporter of civil rights and an impassioned advocate of increased American aid to Africa. As a principal architect of home rule for the District of Columbia and the driving force behind the formation of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), Diggs crafted a national legacy during his 25 years in the House. John Conyers, Jr., of Detroit, Diggs’s House colleague of many years said, “Congressman Diggs paved the way for an entire generation of black political leaders, not just in his home state, but through the nation.”</p>

<p>Charles Coles Diggs, Jr., the only child of Charles Diggs, Sr., and Mamie Ethel Jones Diggs, was born in Detroit, Michigan, on December 2, 1922. Prominent in Detroit, the Diggs family owned a local mortuary, a funeral insurance company, and an ambulance service. In the 1920s, the city that would become the hub of the U.S. automobile industry underwent a massive transformation as southern blacks streamed northward in search of wage labor. Between 1920 and 1930, Detroit’s black population tripled—growing at a faster rate than any other major northern city. Charles Diggs, Sr., personified rising black influence in Detroit, becoming the first African–American Democrat elected to the Michigan state senate. After graduating from Detroit’s Miller High School in 1940, Charles Diggs, Jr., enrolled at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. After two years, Diggs transferred to Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. While still an undergraduate in Tennessee, he entered the United States Army Air Forces as a private on February 19, 1943. During World War II, Diggs was a member of a segregated unit that trained at an airstrip in Alabama. Commissioned a second lieutenant in 1944, Diggs was discharged from the military on June 1, 1945. Diggs resumed his academic career, enrolling in Detroit’s Wayne College of Mortuary Science. After graduating in June 1946, the newly licensed mortician joined his father’s funeral business, serving as chairman of the House of Diggs, Inc. Diggs also delivered commentary on current affairs (interspersed with gospel music) as part of a weekly radio show sponsored by his business. Married four times, Charles Diggs, Jr., had six children.</p>

<p>Although it was not his original intent, Diggs ultimately followed in his father’s political footsteps. Elected to the Michigan state senate in 1936, Charles Diggs, Sr., was caught up in a legislative bribery scandal in 1944, bringing his public service to a grinding halt. Upon his release from prison in 1950, Diggs, Sr., sought to reclaim his position in the legislature. He won his election bid, but in an unprecedented move, the Republican–controlled Michigan senate refused to seat him and another member–elect because of their criminal records. Outraged by the events that prevented his father from resuming his political career, Charles Diggs, Jr., interrupted his studies at the Detroit School of Law to enter the special election for his father’s seat. Diggs won the election and served in the Michigan senate for three years before setting his sights on the United States Congress. Using the campaign slogan “Make Democracy Live,” he defeated incumbent Representative George D. O’Brien by a two–to–one margin in the August 1954 Democratic primary in the overwhelmingly Democratic, majority–black Detroit district. Building on the momentum from the primary, Diggs easily bested Republican Landon Knight—the son of John S. Knight, editor and publisher of the Detroit Free Press—in the general election, capturing 66 percent of the vote to become Michigan’s first African–American Representative. After winning a seat in the 84th Congress (1955–1957), Diggs remarked, “This is a great victory for the voters of the Democratic Party, and it also settles deeper issues—the racial issue. This is proof that the voters of the Thirteenth District have reached maturity.” Diggs rarely faced serious opposition in subsequent elections, typically winning by more than 70 percent in an impoverished urban district that saw a rapid decline in population and a substantial rise in black residents during his House tenure.</p>

<p>Charles Coles Diggs Jr. (December 2, 1922 – August 24, 1998) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Michigan who served in the state senate and U.S. House of Representatives. Diggs was an early member of the civil rights movement. In September 1955, the Michigan Representative garnered national attention when he attended the trial of the two white Mississippians accused of murdering Emmett Till. He was also elected the first chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus and was a staunch critic of the apartheid regime in South Africa.</p>

<p>Born in Detroit, Charles was the only child of Mayme E. Jones Diggs, and Charles Diggs Sr. He attended the University of Michigan, Detroit College of Law (1952-52) and Fisk University. He served in the United States Army from 1943 to 1945. After his discharge, Diggs worked as a funeral director. He served as a member of the Michigan State Senate from the 3rd district 1951-54, just as his father had from 1937 to 1944.</p>

<p>He was rooted in his family's business, the House of Diggs, which at one time was said to be Michigan's largest funeral home.</p>