S. Howard Woodson
S. Howard Woodson | |
---|---|
Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly | |
In office 1974–1976 | |
Preceded by | Thomas Kean |
Succeeded by | Joseph A. LeFante |
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly | |
In office 1964–1976 | |
Preceded by | Vince Parano |
Succeeded by | Helen Chiarello Szabo |
Constituency | Mercer (1963–68) District 6B (1968–72) 13th district (1972–76) |
Member of the Trenton City Council | |
In office 1962–1963 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Samuel Howard Woodson, Jr. May 8, 1916 Ewing, New Jersey |
Political party | Democratic Party |
Residence(s) | Trenton, New Jersey |
Alma mater | Cheyney Training School for Teachers Morehouse College Atlanta University |
Samuel Howard Woodson, Jr. (May 8, 1916 – July 28, 1999) was an American pastor, civil rights leader, and
Early life and education
Born in Philadelphia, Woodson attended public schools there and received a B.S. degree in education from Cheyney Training School for Teachers (now Cheyney University of Pennsylvania). In 1940 he became the first graduate student to matriculate into the School of Divinity at Morehouse College in Atlanta. While there he served as an assistant to the pastor of the Wheat Street Baptist Church. He received a B.D. degree from Morehouse, the first graduate degree ever offered at the school. He continued postgraduate work in sociology at Atlanta University.[1]
Civil rights activism
Woodson was ordained as a minister in 1941 and was called as pastor of the Grace Temple Baptist Church in Lawnside, New Jersey in 1944. He moved to Trenton, New Jersey in 1946, serving as pastor of the Shiloh Baptist Church, where he would remain for 53 years.[1][2]
In Trenton Woodson was active in the civil rights movement as President of the local branch of the
Political career
Woodson was elected to the Trenton City Council in 1962, the first African American elected to office in Mercer County, New Jersey. In 1964, he narrowly won a special election to complete the New Jersey General Assembly term of Vince Parano, defeating Republican Sidney Souter by 5,368 votes.[3] He would serve for thirteen consecutive years. Woodson was minority leader in 1968-1969 and associate leader for the 1972 session.
Speaker of the Assembly
At the start of the Assembly session in 1972, Democratic leadership had wanted to name Woodson as Speaker, until Assemblyman
When Democrats gained control of the Assembly in 1974, Woodson was chosen as speaker, making him the first African American to hold a state house
Election results
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | S. Howard Woodson | 51,623 | 45.81% | |
Republican | Sidney S. Souter | 46,255 | 41.13% | |
An Experienced Legislator | Richard L. Gray | 14,579 | 12.96% | |
Total votes | 112,457 | 100.00% |
Later work and death
Woodson resigned from the Assembly in 1976 when Gov. Brendan Byrne appointed him president of the New Jersey Civil Service Commission (later known as the Merit Review Board), a position he held until 1982. In 1978 Woodson admitted that he had not filed state or federal income tax returns for the previous two years. Woodson was ordered by Byrne to take an unpaid leave of absence while the matter was being investigated, but it was discovered that he did not owe any back taxes and was in fact due a refund.[2]
In 1990, Gov. James Florio appointed Woodson to serve as Director of the Division of Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action (EEO/AA). He retired from the position in 1994.[1]
Woodson died on July 28, 1999, at a hospital in Trenton at the age of 83.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d Biography of Reverend Dr. S. Howard Woodson Jr., Shiloh Baptist Church. Accessed March 18, 2008.
- ^ a b c "S.H. Woodson, Assembly Chief And Pastor".The New York Times, August 7, 1999. Accessed March 18, 2008.
- ^ Wildstein, David (21 January 2019). "Trailblazer: Speaker S. Howard Woodson". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
- ^ Sullivan, Ronald. "4 Democrats Give G.O.P. Jersey Assembly Control", The New York Times, January 12, 1972. Accessed May 20, 2009.
- ^ Sharp, James Roger and Nancy Weatherly Sharp. American Legislative Leaders in the Northeast, 1911-1994. Greenwood Press, 2000.
- ^ "Results of the General Election" (PDF). Office of the Secretary of State. Retrieved 1 September 2019.