Adam Clayton Powell Jr. elected to Congress

Adam Clayton Powell Jr. was sworn in as U.S. Representative from Harlem in 1945, becoming one of the first Black members of Congress from the Northeast. As chair of the House Education and Labor Committee in the 1960s, he shepherded more major legislation into law than nearly any other member, including the National Defense Education Act and the Economic Opportunity Act, earning the title 'Mr. Civil Rights' on Capitol Hill.