Frederick Madison Roberts was born on 14 September 1879 in Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio. He was the son of Andrew Jackson Roberts and Ellen Wayles Hemings. His mother is the granddaughter of Sally Hemings, the mistress of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States. Therefore, Roberts is a great-grandson of Thomas Jefferson.
As a child, Roberts moved with his family to Los Angeles. He was the first African-American to graduate from Los Angeles High School. He also became a mortician working for his father at A.J. Roberts & Son, the first black-owned mortuary in Los Angeles.
However, his greatest achievement is that he is the first African-American to be elected to public office on the West Coast. In 1918, he was elected to the California State Assembly in a hard fought campaign. His chief rival regularly spewed racial slurs against him, but Roberts nonetheless prevailed. The Republican legislator would serve in the State Assembly until 1934 when he was defeated by another African American candidate, Augustus F. Hawkins, a Democrat.
In 1946, Roberts ran unsuccessfully for the 14th Congressional District. He was defeated by incumbent Helen Gahagan Douglas, a former actress who is perhaps best known for her loss in a hotly contested U.S. Senate race at the hands of Richard M. Nixon a few years later.
On Friday evening, 18 July 1952, Roberts was involved in a serious automobile accident in his hometown of Los Angeles. He died the following afternoon at Los Angeles County General Hospital.
On Monday, 25 February 2002, the California State Senate honored Frederick Madison Roberts for his contributions and service to the State of California. Senate Resolution 26, authored by Senator Ray Haynes (R-Riverside), passed the State Senate with a unanimous vote.
As a child, Roberts moved with his family to Los Angeles. He was the first African-American to graduate from Los Angeles High School. He also became a mortician working for his father at A.J. Roberts & Son, the first black-owned mortuary in Los Angeles.
However, his greatest achievement is that he is the first African-American to be elected to public office on the West Coast. In 1918, he was elected to the California State Assembly in a hard fought campaign. His chief rival regularly spewed racial slurs against him, but Roberts nonetheless prevailed. The Republican legislator would serve in the State Assembly until 1934 when he was defeated by another African American candidate, Augustus F. Hawkins, a Democrat.
In 1946, Roberts ran unsuccessfully for the 14th Congressional District. He was defeated by incumbent Helen Gahagan Douglas, a former actress who is perhaps best known for her loss in a hotly contested U.S. Senate race at the hands of Richard M. Nixon a few years later.
On Friday evening, 18 July 1952, Roberts was involved in a serious automobile accident in his hometown of Los Angeles. He died the following afternoon at Los Angeles County General Hospital.
On Monday, 25 February 2002, the California State Senate honored Frederick Madison Roberts for his contributions and service to the State of California. Senate Resolution 26, authored by Senator Ray Haynes (R-Riverside), passed the State Senate with a unanimous vote.
Frederick Madison Roberts was born on 14 September 1879 in Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio. He was the son of Andrew Jackson Roberts and Ellen Wayles Hemings. His mother is the granddaughter of Sally Hemings, the mistress of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States. Therefore, Roberts is a great-grandson of Thomas Jefferson.
As a child, Roberts moved with his family to Los Angeles. He was the first African-American to graduate from Los Angeles High School. He also became a mortician working for his father at A.J. Roberts & Son, the first black-owned mortuary in Los Angeles.
However, his greatest achievement is that he is the first African-American to be elected to public office on the West Coast. In 1918, he was elected to the California State Assembly in a hard fought campaign. His chief rival regularly spewed racial slurs against him, but Roberts nonetheless prevailed. The Republican legislator would serve in the State Assembly until 1934 when he was defeated by another African American candidate, Augustus F. Hawkins, a Democrat.
In 1946, Roberts ran unsuccessfully for the 14th Congressional District. He was defeated by incumbent Helen Gahagan Douglas, a former actress who is perhaps best known for her loss in a hotly contested U.S. Senate race at the hands of Richard M. Nixon a few years later.
On Friday evening, 18 July 1952, Roberts was involved in a serious automobile accident in his hometown of Los Angeles. He died the following afternoon at Los Angeles County General Hospital.
On Monday, 25 February 2002, the California State Senate honored Frederick Madison Roberts for his contributions and service to the State of California. Senate Resolution 26, authored by Senator Ray Haynes (R-Riverside), passed the State Senate with a unanimous vote.
As a child, Roberts moved with his family to Los Angeles. He was the first African-American to graduate from Los Angeles High School. He also became a mortician working for his father at A.J. Roberts & Son, the first black-owned mortuary in Los Angeles.
However, his greatest achievement is that he is the first African-American to be elected to public office on the West Coast. In 1918, he was elected to the California State Assembly in a hard fought campaign. His chief rival regularly spewed racial slurs against him, but Roberts nonetheless prevailed. The Republican legislator would serve in the State Assembly until 1934 when he was defeated by another African American candidate, Augustus F. Hawkins, a Democrat.
In 1946, Roberts ran unsuccessfully for the 14th Congressional District. He was defeated by incumbent Helen Gahagan Douglas, a former actress who is perhaps best known for her loss in a hotly contested U.S. Senate race at the hands of Richard M. Nixon a few years later.
On Friday evening, 18 July 1952, Roberts was involved in a serious automobile accident in his hometown of Los Angeles. He died the following afternoon at Los Angeles County General Hospital.
On Monday, 25 February 2002, the California State Senate honored Frederick Madison Roberts for his contributions and service to the State of California. Senate Resolution 26, authored by Senator Ray Haynes (R-Riverside), passed the State Senate with a unanimous vote.
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