THE NEGROES OF NEBRASKA

     (28) In the first years following the establishment of their right to vote, the Negroes of Nebraska were predominantly Republican because of their gratitude to President Lincoln and the Republican administration which freed them from slavery. In later years and at the present they are nominally about equally divided between the two major political parties. Actually, however, they have learned to cast their vote for the candidate whom they believe is most apt to show some interest in their welfare.

     Although in politics, as in so many phases of their activities, they have been handicapped because of their race, Negroes have nevertheless exhibited an active interest. A Negro ran for the office of Mayor of Blair, Nebraska, in 1881. Although he was defeated he received seventy-five votes. Henry Brown, Negro, was elected Mayor of Brownville. Nebraska, April 4, 1893.

     Political leadership among the Negroes of Nebraska was first assumed by Cyrus D. Bell, a newspaper man and an ex-slave, about 1880. E. R. Overall, another ex-slave and the first Negro mail carrier in Omaha, succeeded him and headed the group until Dr. M. O. Ricketts, about 1890, came into power. Dr. Ricketts served two terms in the State Legislature, beginning in 1892. Other Negroes to serve as members of the State Legislature have been Dr. John A. Singleton, F. L. Barnett, Dr. A. M. McMillan, George W. Hibbler, John Adams, Jr., now serving, in the Unicameral Legislature, his third term, and John Owen, who, since December 15, 1936, has held the office of "Negro Mayor" of Omaha. He is the first and only individual to be accorded that honor by his people.

     One of the most prominent Negro politicians of Nebraska was Bud Lindsay, owner of the old Savoy hotel at Lincoln. He was a delegate to the national convention of 1896 which nominated William McKinley for president of the United States.

     There is, in nearly all of the larger cities of Nebraska, a Negro political club. Many, in fact, the majority of them have had a short life, though usually they are reorganized and become more or less active during political campaigns. Probably the oldest of these organizations is the Abraham Lincoln Afro-American Voters' League, organized at Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1879. The following year, in 1880, the Negroes of Omaha organized a Republican Club.

     Present-day political leadership among the Negroes of Nebraska is not centered in any single individual. There are several men whose political influence among the members of their race establishes them in positions of leadership and public service. Among these are Attorney H. J. Pinkett, Republican party leader, Harry Leland, State Oil Inspector at the Port of Entry, John Owen, former State Legislator, John Adams, Jr., present State Senator, and Arthur B. McCaw, also a Republican party leader.

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