-
https://digitalresearch.bsu.edu/digitalcivilrightsmuseum/files/original/15cba328eb5b085e91cafaa84ed47044.jpg
d8609074e002d7c9ac22dca12a358224
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
People
Person
An individual.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Congresswoman Julia Carson
Description
An account of the resource
Julia May Porter Carson was born on July 8, 1938, in Louisville, Kentucky. [1] She was raised by her single mother, Velma V. Porter, and the two moved to Indianapolis when Julia was still very young. Velma worked as a domestic and Julia, in addition to attending school, worked various part time positions including “waiting tables, delivering newspapers, and harvesting crops” to supplement the family income. [2] She graduated from the all-black Crispus Attucks High School in 1955, and shortly after graduation was married. [3] She and her husband had two children, then divorced, and Julia Carson raised her family as a single mother. [4]
In 1965, Carson was working as a secretary for the United Auto Workers local chapter #550 when she met newly elected Indiana Representative Andrew Jacobs, Jr. [5] The Democratic Congressman was searching for a caseworker for his district office and hired Carson. [6] Working for Rep. Jacobs set Carson’s own political career in motion. After working at his district office for seven years and eventually becoming his congressional office manager, Representative Jacobs encouraged Carson to run for the Indiana House of Representatives in 1972. [7] Carson ran as a Democratic Party candidate representing Indianapolis and won the election, becoming the only black woman in the chamber. [8] She served two terms in the Indiana House of Representatives from 1972-1976, where she was the Assistant Minority Caucus Chair. [9] Carson was then the first black woman elected to the Indiana Senate, serving from 1976-1990, and eventually holding the powerful Minority Whip position. [10] She was a founding member of the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus in 1979. [11] From 1972-1982, as she was legislating in the Indiana General Assembly, Carson was also working as the Public Affairs Manager for Cummins Engine Co. to make ends meet. [12] In 1991, Carson was elected as Center Township trustee in Indianapolis, where she served from 1990-1997. [13] In that role, she assisted Indianapolis residents in need “by distributing relief and connecting residents to helpful resources when necessary,” including overseeing welfare payments. [14] Carson was instrumental in helping Indianapolis residents escape the cycle of poverty through her “workfare” program, which gave training and employment opportunities. The “workfare” program resulted in fewer necessary welfare payments, helping Carson erase a $20 million deficit in Center Township. [15]
After Representative Andrew Jacobs, Jr. retired, he endorsed Carson as his successor. [16] She successfully ran for his seat, and was elected to the 105th Congress in 1997. She was the first woman and first African American to represent Indianapolis, and only the second black woman to represent Indiana in the House of Representatives after Congresswoman Katie Hall of Gary. [17] While serving in Congress, Carson “championed children’s issues, women’s rights, and efforts to reduce homelessness.” [18] As a member of the Progressive Caucus, “the most liberal faction of the House Democrats,” Carson was also a “reliable supporter of organized labor, environmental protections, abortion rights, gun control, and health care programs.” [19] In 2002, Carson voted against the “request for broad authority to wage war against Iraq” presented to Congress by President George W. Bush. [20]
Perhaps Carson’s most well-known legislation in Congress were efforts to commemorate Civil Rights Movement hero Rosa Parks. On February 4, 1999, Parks’ 86th birthday, Carson introduced a successful resolution which awarded Parks the Congressional Gold Medal. Carson was one of the speakers at the ceremony in 1999, along with President Bill Clinton. [21] Her efforts to commemorate Parks as “a living icon for freedom in America” did not stop there. [22] After Parks’ death on October 24, 2005, Carson helped to pass legislation allowing Rosa Parks to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda, making her the first woman ever to be given this honor. [23] By doing so, Carson joined a legislative tradition initiated in 1983 in the 98th Congress in which “African American Members of Congress often used their influence to pass legislation commemorating great leaders and seminal events in the civil rights movement and to call attention to unrecognized black contributions to American history.” [24]
Julia Carson was elected to the United States House of Representatives six times, and died in office on December 15, 2007 of lung cancer. [25] Her grandson, current U.S. Representative André Carson, won the special election to fill her seat and has represented Indiana’s 7th Congressional district since 2008. [26] Julia Carson defied political odds, rising from poverty to become one of the first African American women to represent Indiana in Congress. Despite her national prominence, Carson still remained popular in her district; her constituents “spoke of her as if she were a family member.” [27] On January 16, 2014, a bronze bust of Julia Carson was unveiled as part of a permanent black history exhibit in the Indiana State House, cementing her place in Hoosier history. [28]
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
[1] Alys Beverton, “JULIA MAY PORTER CARSON (1938–2007),” Black Past, November 8, 2009, https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/carson-julia-1938-2007/. <br />[2] “Carson, Julia May,” United States House of Representatives, accessed October 29, 2019, https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/10693. <br />[3] Ibid. <br />[4] Ibid. <br />[5] “Carson, Julia May,” United States House of Representatives, accessed October 29, 2019, https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/10693.; “CARSON, Julia May, (1938-2007),” Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, accessed October 29, 2019, http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=c000191. <br />[6] "Carson, Julia May,” United States House of Representatives, accessed October 29, 2019, https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/10693. <br />[7] “Woman Power Needed in State Legislature—Vote for Trio,” Indianapolis Recorder (Indianapolis, IN), Apr. 29, 1972.; Schneider, Rob, “She Never Forgot: Compassion for Those in Need Grew Out of Her Childhood Experiences,” Indianapolis Star (Indianapolis, IN), Dec. 16, 2007. <br />[8] “Legislative Discussion,” Indianapolis Recorder (Indianapolis, IN), Feb. 10, 1973. <br />[9] “Carson, Julia May,” United States House of Representatives, accessed October 29, 2019, https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/10693. <br />[10] “C. Delores Tucker Speaks at Brunch for Rep. Carson,” Indianapolis Recorder (Indianapolis, IN), Oct. 23, 1976.; “Carson, Julia May,” United States House of Representatives, accessed October 29, 2019, https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/10693. <br />[11] Hurley C. Goodall, “Julia Carson: A Very Special Kind of Lady,” Muncie Times (Muncie, IN), Dec. 20, 2007. <br />[12] “Carson Through the Years,” Indianapolis Star (Indianapolis, IN), Dec. 16, 2007. <br />[13] “Carson, Julia May,” United States House of Representatives, accessed October 29, 2019, https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/10693. <br />[14] “Township Trustees,” Indy.gov, accessed October 29, 2019, https://www.indy.gov/agency/township-trustees.; “Carson, Julia May,” United States House of Representatives, accessed October 29, 2019, https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/10693. <br />[15] Schneider, Rob, “She Never Forgot: Compassion for Those in Need Grew Out of Her Childhood Experiences,” Indianapolis Star (Indianapolis, IN), Dec. 16, 2007.; “Carson, Julia May,” United States House of Representatives, accessed October 29, 2019, https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/10693. <br />[16] Ibid. <br />[17] “Julia Carson Papers, 1978-2007,” Indiana University Purdue University Ruth Lilly Special Collections & Archives, accessed October 29, 2019, http://www.ulib.iupui.edu/collections/general/mss079. <br />[18] Alys Beverton, “JULIA MAY PORTER CARSON (1938–2007),” Black Past, November 8, 2009, https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/carson-julia-1938-2007/. <br />[19] “Carson, Julia, D-Ind,” in CQ's Politics in America 2004 (the 108th Congress), edited by David Hawkings and Brian Nutting, (Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2003): 373. <br />[20] Ibid. <br />[21] “Carson, Julia May,” United States House of Representatives, accessed October 29, 2019, https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/10693. <br />[22] Julia Carson, “Legislation to Award a Congressional Gold Medal to Rosa Parks,” Congressional Record 145, no. 20, (1999): 31-32. <br />[23] “Carson, Julia May,” United States House of Representatives, accessed October 29, 2019, https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/10693. <br />[24] “Legislative Interests,” History, Art, and Archives: House of Representatives, accessed April 20, 2019, https://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/BAIC/Historical-Essays/Permanent-Interest/Legislative-Interests/. <br />[25] “Carson, Julia May,” United States House of Representatives, accessed October 29, 2019, https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/10693. <br />[26] John Lambkun, “Andre Carson Wins Indy Congressional Seat Once Held by His Late Grandmother,” Muncie Times (Muncie, IN), Mar. 20, 2008. <br />[27] Matthew Tully, “Carson Formed Deep Bond With Supporters,” The Indianapolis Star (Indianapolis, IN), Dec. 16, 2007. <br />[28] “Busts of Julia Carson and James S. Hinton Dedicated in the Indiana State House,” Indiana Historical Bureau, January 23, 2014, https://www.in.gov/history/4227.htm.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
PHOTO & VIDEO:
Carson, Julia, attributed to U.S. Congress, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carson_julia.jpg
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Student Authors: Allison Hunt and Jordan Girard <br />Faculty/Staff Editors: Dr. Ronald V. Morris, Dr. Kevin C. Nolan, and Christine Thompson<br />Graduate Assistant Researchers: Carrie Vachon and JB Bilbrey
Relation
A related resource
<a href="https://www.in.gov/history/markers/211.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indiana Historical Bureau: Historical Marker for Crispus Attucks High School</a>
1950s-present
Civil Rights Movement
Indianapolis
law
Legislator
Marion County
Politics