In 1952, at the height of his reign, Johnson was arrested for selling heroin. [30], Powell also paid attention to the issues of developing nations in Africa and Asia, making trips overseas. He led the church to move to Harlem to replant the congregation amid neighborhoods changing rapidly with the influx of African Americans moving into the city as part of the great migration in the early 20th century. His leadership of the congregation through the early 20th century made him one of the most powerful men in Harlem. In 1970 he lost the Democratic nomination to Harlembased New York State Assemblyman Charlie Rangel. By 1969 Powell, who had also been suffering from cancer, seemed on the verge of retirement. His mother Sally Dunning (18421848? He was not expelled . Powell divorced his wife, and married Hazel five days later. [2][4] This was in the Piedmont, above the Fall Line of the Roanoke River. On the show, Gigante is portrayed as an eccentric figure who refuses to cooperate with Johnson. [2] He received 65,736 votes, the third-best total among the six successful Council candidates. [53] The film debuted on February 17, 2002, on premium cable network Showtime. Adam Clayton Powell IV is the son of the former Congressman and his third wife, Yvette Diago. Powell worked closely with Clarence Mitchell Jr., the representative of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Washington, D.C., to try to gain justice in federal programs. These included the appropriation of Congressional funds for his personal use, the use of funds meant for the House Education and Labor Committee to pay the salary of a housekeeper at his property on Bimini in The Bahamas, purchasing airline tickets for himself, family, and friends from the funds of the House Education and Labor Committee, as well as making false reports on expenditures of foreign currency while heading of the House Education and Labor Committee. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital Johnson spent much of his 20s in and out of prison, but truly made a name for himself in the 1930s when he began working for the Harlem mob boss Stephanie St. Claire, known as The Queen of Numbers. He eventually become the main enforcer for St. Claires illegal gambling business. [44][45] Yvette Diago admitted to the committee that she had been on the Congressional payroll of her former husband, Adam Clayton Powell Jr., from 1961 until 1967, although she had moved back to Puerto Rico in 1961. He was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989-93) and secretary of state (2001-05), the first African American to hold either position. Bob Fitch photography archive, Stanford University Libraries. [32], Powell was instrumental in passing legislation that made lynching a federal crime, as well as bills that desegregated public schools. [8] Anthony reared Adam as his son, and he and Sally had several children together. Colleagues criticized him for mismanaging government funds and living an erratic lifestyle. He challenged individual members of Congress that used the n-word, held both parties accountable for their failure to legislate civil rights, and took the integration of capitol facilities into his own hands. )[5] They and their ancestors were classified as mulatto in 19th-century censuses. Oscar winner Forest Whitaker stars as real-life Harlem mob boss Ellsworth Bumpy Johnson, who has been portrayed in multiple films, most notably Ridley Scotts 2007 American Gangster. In 1963, Johnson returned home to Harlem and was greeted by a parade. All Rights Reserved. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under U.S. President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005, the first African American to serve in that position.