Channing Emery Phillips (March 23, 1928 – November 11, 1987) was an American minister,

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

leader, and social activist based in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

In 1968, he was the first

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

in history to be placed in nomination for

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

by a major political party.

Early life

Phillips was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. His father was a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

minister. He grew up in New York City and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

in the late-1940s. Phillips earned a bachelor's degree from

Virginia Union University Virginia Union University is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Richmond, Virginia. History The American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) founded the school as Rich ...

and a Master of Divinity from the Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School. He also did postgraduate work at

Drew University Drew University is a private university in Madison, New Jersey, United States. It has a wooded campus. As of fall 2020, more than 2,200 students were pursuing degrees at the university's three schools. While affiliated with the Methodism, Me ...

Career

Phillips moved to

, where he was a founding member of Coalition of Conscience. He also worked as a professor of divinity at

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

. This conglomeration of local organizations worked to alleviate social problems in the capital. For seven years, Phillips served as the pastor of Lincoln Temple,

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a socially liberal mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Restorationist, Continental Reformed, and Lutheran t ...

, in Washington. In 1968, Phillips headed

Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968), also known as RFK, was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 64th United States attorney general from January 1961 to September 1964, and as a U.S. senator from New Yo ...

's presidential campaign in D.C. He led the delegation from the District of Columbia to the

1968 Democratic National Convention The 1968 Democratic National Convention was held August 26–29 at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Earlier that year incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had announced he would not seek reelection, thus making ...

in Chicago. Members of the District's Delegation were originally pledged to

. But, following Senator Kennedy's

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

in early June in California, the delegation voted instead to nominate Rev. Phillips as a

favorite son Favorite son (or favorite daughter) is a political term referring to a presidential candidate, either one that is nominated by a state but considered a nonviable candidate or a politician whose electoral appeal derives from their native state, r ...

. He received 68 votes (behind

Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American politician who served from 1965 to 1969 as the 38th vice president of the United States. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Minnesota from 19 ...

Eugene McCarthy Eugene Joseph McCarthy (March 29, 1916December 10, 2005) was an American politician, writer, and academic from Minnesota. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959 and the United States Senate from 1959 to 1971. ...

and

George McGovern George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American politician, diplomat, and historian who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator from South Dakota, and the Democratic Party (United States), Democ ...

). By some accounts, Rev. Phillips was the first black person ever so nominated at a major party convention. He was the first African American to receive votes for the presidential nomination at a

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

. Abolitionist

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was the most impor ...

received votes for president at the

1888 Republican National Convention The 1888 Republican National Convention was a presidential nominating convention held at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, on June 19–25, 1888. It resulted in the nomination of former United States Senate, Senator Benjamin Harrison of ...

, but it does not appear from the official record that his name was put into nomination.CNN: Think you know your Democratic convention trivia?
/ref> Phillips said that his candidacy was meant to show that "the Negro vote must not be taken for granted." At the time of his candidacy, Phillips was president of the Housing Development Corporation, a government-backed housing venture in the federal capital. In 1971 Phillips ran to become the first congressional delegate to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from D.C., but lost the Democratic primary to Walter E. Fauntroy. He was an advocate for full home-rule status for the District of Columbia. Phillips later moved back to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1982. He became Minister of Planning and Coordination at the

Riverside Church Riverside Church is an interdenominational church in the Morningside Heights, Manhattan, Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The church is associated with the American Baptist Churches USA and the Un ...

Personal life

He died of cancer at the age of 59 and was survived by his wife, Jane, and their children, two sons: Channing D. Phillips, acting

United States Attorney for the District of Columbia The United States attorney for the District of Columbia (USADC) is responsible for representing the Federal government of the United States, federal government in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The U.S. Attorney's ...

, and John E. Phillips of Manhattan, and three daughters: Sheilah P. Peterson and Tracy J. Phillips of Manhattan, and Jill C. Phillips of Oakland, California. The funeral was held at Riverside Church in New York.

References

Sources

Our Campaigns - Candidate - Channing E. Phillips
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Channing E. 1928 births 1987 deaths Candidates in the 1968 United States presidential election Activists from Brooklyn Religious leaders from Brooklyn African-American candidates for President of the United States Activists for African-American civil rights African-American Baptist ministers African-American people in Washington, D.C., politics Activists from New York (state) Washington, D.C., Democrats Baptists from New York (state) Deaths from cancer in New York (state) 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century Baptist ministers from the United States