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Shaping Kansas Politics: The African American Legislators

Electoral politics has always been central to the African American struggle for freedom and equality. In Kansas, African Americans have made important contributions to the Kansas political landscape. One of the most important being their role as elected representatives to the Kansas Legislature where they have served with distinction and dedication since 1889, when Alfred Fairfax, a farmer and Baptist minister, was elected as representative from Chautauqua County.

Until the 1956 election of Mr. Curtis R. McClinton, Sr., a Democrat from Sedgwick County, all African American state legislators came from the 8th District of Wyandotte County in the 20th century. Most were members of the Republican Party, including William Blount, a physician, and lawyers William H. Towers and Myles C. Stevens. Eldred Browne, a chiropractor, who served from 1955 to 1957, was the first African American member of the Democratic Party to serve in the Kansas legislature.

During the 1960s, when representation in the Kansas legislature was reapportioned based on population, the number African American state legislators increased. The 1966 session of the Kansas legislature included two African American state Senators, George Haley of Wyandotte County and Curtis R. McClinton of Sedgwick County who had previously served in the House. By 1975, six African Americans took their seats in the Legislature, one of the highest numbers to serve in any session. Except for J. B. Littlejohn, a Republican businessman elected from Shawnee County, all were Democrats.

During the latter years of the 20th Century, African American women joined their male counterparts in serving as elected members of the state legislature. The 2006 legislative session will include Barbara Ballard of Douglas County and Valdenia Winn of Wyandotte County; and from Sedgwick County, we will see Oletha Faust-Goudeau and Melody McCray Miller.

The University of Kansas Libraries’ African American outreach program, based in the Kansas Collection at the Spencer Research Library, maintains one of the region’s largest numbers of archival collections that document the experiences of Kansas African American legislators. These papers are available for consultation and use, and provide a wealth of information about the political, social and economic issues in Kansas during the last half of the twentieth century. Our outreach program continues to seek donations from legislators themselves and from others who may hold related material. The experiences and achievements of these legislators are an integral part of the permanent historical record of the Kansas region.