Today is the Spring Election, and to celebrate the democratic process, host Dana Pellebon is in conversation with political scientist, Dr. Marion Orr, about Charles C. Diggs Jr. who Dr. Orr calls “the most consequential Black congressman.”

Orr first learned about Michigan Congressman Diggs when he was an undergraduate student at Savannah State. Unfortunately, many people won’t encounter Diggs in their history books. So Orr set out to write the first biography of Diggs, whose legacy is “scattered across the Civil Rights movement and Black politics.” Orr’s book is called, House of Diggs: The Rise and Fall of America’s Most Consequential Black Congressman. Charles C. Diggs Jr..

Orr says that Digg was “in the front seat” of every issue from the 1950s until he resigned from Congress in 1980: he was present at the trial of Emmett Till’s murderers, he founded the Congressional Black Caucus, participated in the Gary Convention of ‘72, and shaped the American anti-apartheid movement.

Orr says that Congressman Diggs put himself at great risk to observe the trial of Emmett Till’s murderers. His presence in the Mississippi courtroom gave courage to the Black witnesses to come forward and testify against the two white killers. By attending the trial, Diggs sent the message that, though he was elected to represent Detroit, he would represent all Black Americans. Diggs was also the first congressperson to show a long-term interest in Africa and US-Africa policy and became the chair of the Subcommittee on Africa, says Orr.

They also talk about Digg’s fall from power after the FBI was tipped off to a payroll violation and how he sacrificed his relationship with his family to serve his elected role. Orr holds that Congressman Diggs should be remembered for his many accomplishments and his role in shaping the length and breadth of so many fights for justice.

Marion Orr is a political scientist and the inaugural Frederick Lippitt Professor of Public Policy at Brown University. An award-winning author, his publications include House of Diggs: The Rise and Fall of America’s Most Consequential Black Congressman. Charles C. Diggs Jr.; Black Social Capital: The Politics of School Reform in Baltimore; and The Color of School Reform: Race, Politics, and the Challenge of Urban Education. He was awarded the Biographers International Organization’s Francis “Frank” Rollin Fellowship for his work on Congressman Diggs.

Featured image of the cover of House of Diggs: The Rise and Fall of America’s Most Consequential Black Congressman. Charles C. Diggs Jr.

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