On May 12, 1951, Oscar Stanton De Priest, a pioneering African American politician, passed away at the age of 80 in Chicago. Elected in 1928, De Priest became the first Black congressman of the 20th century and the first to represent a northern state. A Republican from Illinois, he served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he fought against racial discrimination and advocated for civil rights legislation. His very presence in Congress challenged Jim Crow-era norms and symbolized a major political breakthrough for African Americans during the Great Migration era.
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