Carson, Julia, 1938-2007

<p>Julia May Carson (July 8, 1938 – December 15, 2007), born Julia May Porter, was a member of the United States House of Representatives for Indiana's 7th congressional district from 1997 until her death in 2007 (numbered as the 10th District from 1997 to 2003). Carson was the first woman and first African American to represent Indianapolis in the U.S. Congress. She was also the second African American woman elected to Congress from Indiana, after Katie Hall, and her grandson André Carson succeeded to her seat following her death.</p>

<p>Carson was born in Louisville, Kentucky. Her mother, Velma V. Porter, unmarried and a teenager, moved to Indianapolis while Julia was still a girl and worked as a domestic to support her family. Julia also worked part-time, waiting tables, delivering newspapers, and harvesting crops, among other jobs to support her family before graduating from Crispus Attucks High School in 1955, as well as while attending Martin University in Indianapolis and Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis. She was a member of Zeta Phi Beta sorority. She also married after graduation, and had two children, Sam and Tonya, but divorced Carson while the children were still young.</p>

<p>In 1965, while a single mother and working as a secretary at UAW Local 550, Carson was hired away by newly elected congressman Andrew Jacobs Jr., a Democrat, to do casework in his Indianapolis office. When his own electoral prospects looked dim in 1972 (which turned out to be a Republican landslide), Jacobs encouraged Carson to run for the Indiana House of Representatives, which she did. She won election from the central Indianapolis district in 1972, and re-election. She served as a delegate for four years and rose to become assistant minority caucus chair. The legislature being a part-time position, Carson also worked as the human resources director at an electric company from 1973 to 1996. She also once operated a clothing store, which failed and saddled her with debt for several years.</p>

<p>Overcoming poverty and racism, Julia Carson served nearly two decades in the Indiana legislature and in an Indianapolis administrative office before winning election to the U.S. House in 1996. Carson, the first African American and first woman to represent the Indiana state capital in Congress, focused on issues that affected working class Americans, many of which she knew firsthand. “The only thing some people learn from oppression and hatred is revenge. Others learn compassion and empathy,” said former Indiana Representative Andrew Jacobs Jr., Carson’s political mentor. “From the physical pain of material poverty and the mindlessly cruel persecution of nitwit racism, Julia Carson made her choice of hard work, compassion, and a pleasing sense of humor.”</p>

<p>Julia Carson was born Julia May Porter in Louisville, Kentucky, on July 8, 1938. Her single mother, Velma Porter, moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, to find work as a housekeeper. Carson grew up poor, attended the local public schools, and worked part-time, waiting tables, delivering newspapers, and harvesting crops, among other jobs. In 1955 she graduated from Crispus Attucks High School in Indianapolis. A short while later she was married, and had two children: Sam and Tonya. She divorced while her children were still young. She later studied at Martin University in Indianapolis and Indiana University in Bloomington. In 1965 she was working as a secretary at a local chapter of United Auto Workers when she met newly elected Representative Andy Jacobs, who hired her as a caseworker and district aide. Carson worked for Jacobs for seven years until 1972, when he encouraged her to run for office in the Indiana legislature. He recalled sitting in Carson’s living room for an hour, trying to convince her to run. “Come on, kid,” Jacobs encouraged. “This is the time to step up.”</p>

<p>From 1973 to 1977, Carson served in the state house of representatives, serving as the assistant minority caucus chair, before winning election to the Indiana state senate. She served in the senate until 1990, sitting on the finance committee and eventually holding the minority whip position. Throughout her service in the state legislature, Carson was employed as the human resources director at an electric company—a job she held from 1973 to 1996. In 1991, Carson won election as a Center Township trustee. As trustee, she administered government aid payments in central Indianapolis, earning a reputation for defending the poor that would last throughout her career.3 Carson successfully erased the agency’s crippling debt—a $20 million deficit—leaving $7 million in the bank prior to winning a seat in Congress. “Julia Carson,” observed the county’s Republican auditor, “wrestled that monster to the ground.</p>

CARSON, Julia May, (grandmother of André Carson) a Representative from Indiana; born Julia May Porter in Louisville, Jefferson County, Ky., July 8, 1938; graduated from Crispus Attucks High School, Indianapolis, Ind., 1955; attended Martin University, Indianapolis, Ind., and Indiana University-Purdue University, Fort Wayne, Ind.; secretary, United Auto Workers, Local #550; staff assistant, United States Representative Andrew Jacobs, Jr., of Indiana, 1965-1972; member of the Indiana state house of representatives, 1972-1976; member of the Indiana state senate, 1976-1990; Indianapolis, Ind., center township trustee, 1990-1996; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Fifth and to the five succeeding Congresses, served until her death on December 15, 2007 (January 3, 1997-December 15, 2007); died on December 15, 2007, in Indianapolis, Ind.; lay in state in Indiana state capitol in Indianapolis, December 21, 2007.