Clennon Washington King Jr. (July 18, 1920 – February 12, 2000) was the second

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

man to run for the office of

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 ...

after George Edwin Taylor, and whose attempts at civil rights actions and running for office as a

perennial candidate A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates are most common where there is no limit on the number of times that a person can run for office and little cost ...

caused him to be nicknamed "The Black

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

Family

He was the eldest son of seven. His father, Clennon Washington King Sr., was a

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 ...

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

Tuskegee Institute Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU; formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute) is a Private university, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It was f ...

student and

chauffeur A chauffeur () is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or a limousine. Initially, such drivers were often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to s ...

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, and orator. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the primary leader in the African-American community and of the contemporary Black elite#United S ...

. His mother was Margaret Allegra Slater. His brother, lawyer C. B. King, posthumously had a United States Courthouse in

Albany, Georgia Albany ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Located on the Flint River, it is the county seat of Dougherty County, Georgia, Dougherty County, and is the sole incorporated city in that county. Located in Southwest Geo ...

named after him, his brother Slater King was a successful real estate broker, and his youngest brother Dr. Preston King received a pardon from President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

, both actions related to their civil rights activism.

Attempts at integration

In 1957, he served as a history professor at

Alcorn State University Alcorn State University (Alcorn State, ASU or Alcorn) is a public historically black land-grant university adjacent to Lorman, Mississippi. It was founded in 1871 and was the first black land grant college established in the United States. ...

, but controversial letters to the editor and articles by him on the subject of

racial integration Racial integration, or simply integration, includes desegregation (the process of ending systematic racial segregation), leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of Race (classification of human beings), race, and t ...

led to students first boycotting the classes then threatening to boycott the school. School President J. R. Otis was fired as a consequence. In 1958, King tried to have one of his children integrate an all-white

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, which would have been a first, but his wife and children fled. That year he also applied to the all-white

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

and was committed to an

asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea * ...

for trying to attend it; his brother C.B. King was able to help free him. Additionally, Clennon King sought the support of

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

; they met and MLK later wrote Governor James P. Coleman on behalf of Clennon King. Just two years later,

James Meredith James Howard Meredith (born June 25, 1933) is an American civil rights activist, writer, political adviser, and United States Air Force veteran who became, in 1962, the first African-American student admitted to the racially segregated Univers ...

became the first black student at that university.

1960 presidential campaign

In 1960, King ran for president as candidate of the Independent Afro-American Party with Reginald Carter as his running mate, winning 1,485 votes in

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, making him (by some accounts) the first African-American candidate for President.Semple, Kirk. "Meet the Candidate: The Rev. Clennon King is unique. Period."
''

Miami New Times The ''Miami New Times'' is a newspaper published in Miami, Florida, United States, and distributed every Thursday. It primarily serves the Miami metropolitan area, and is headquartered in Miami's Wynwood Art District. Overview It was acquired ...

'', February 24, 1993 He was followed in 1964 by

Clifton DeBerry Clifton DeBerry (September 18, 1923 – March 24, 2006) was an American communist and two-time candidate for President of the United States of the Socialist Workers Party. He was the first black American in the 20th century to be chosen by a p ...

of the established Socialist Workers Party, which had been running presidential candidates since 1948. George Edwin Taylor had previously run for president in 1904 as a

write-in candidate A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

. It's noted that King came in eleventh place of twelve candidates, well behind

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

's 34,220,984 votes. However, it was the Constitution Party ticket of

Merritt Curtis Merritt Barton Curtis, (August 31, 1892 – May 16, 1966) was a United States Marine Corps officer with the rank of Brigadier general (United States), brigadier general during World War II. He was also a lawyer who in 1960 United States president ...

and B. N. Miller that he beat, but that same party's different ticket of Charles L. Sullivan and Merritt Curtis solely in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

came in seventh, and the Tax Cut Party ticket of

Lar Daly Lawrence Joseph Sarsfield Daly (January 22, 1912 – April 17, 1978), also known as Lar "America First" Daly, was an American fringe politician who ran unsuccessfully for a variety of political offices, often campaigning wearing an Uncle Sam ...

and Merritt Curtis was tenth. He made two additional attempts for high offices. In 1970 he attempted to join the Republican primary for the 1970 gubernatorial election in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, a race in which his brother C.B. ran and lost to

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

in the Democratic primary. King wished to have the fee to be a candidate waived, which it was not, and so sought recourse in a lawsuit and then appeal (ultimately unsuccessful). He stayed in the race as a

. He received relatively few votes for governor and then began a new campaign, trying to run once more for president. This time the candidate of his Vote for Jesus Party, he again turned to a lawsuit in an attempt to waive ballot eligibility requirements this time for

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

, which was again unsuccessful.

Attempt at integrating Jimmy Carter's church

While pastor of the Divine Mission Church in Albany, the night before the 1976 presidential election, King tried to integrate the all-white

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 ...

church of candidate

Plains, Georgia Plains is a city in Sumter County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 573. It is well-known as the home of Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn, who were the 39th president and first lady of the Un ...

. Rev. Bruce Edwards wished to admit him, but the

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

s of the church wanted to uphold the 1965 regulation barring "all Negroes and civil rights agitators"; they closed the church to services and recommended Edwards be fired. Eventually, Edwards resigned. Newspaper stories about the case also reported on King having been convicted for failure to provide

child support Child support (or child maintenance) is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child (state or parent, caregiver, guardian) following the end of a marriage or other similar relationship. Child maintenance is ...

, something he'd been required to pay since 1960 but had not consistently done.

Additional campaigns

King ran for County Commissioner, City Commissioner and the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

of the

Georgia General Assembly The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directl ...

simultaneously in 1979. He was prosecuted for an advertisement placed in the '' Albany Journal'' offering "to pay within 30 days after his election $100 in cash to each August 8 voter who punches for him 3 times." In 1996, King ran for mayor of

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

where he had moved in 1979 as the candidate of the "Party of God."

Death

Following a career as "Reverend Rabbi" of the non-denominational Church of the Divine Mission he had founded in 1981 in Miami, Florida where he called himself "His Divine Blackness," he died in 2000 after being hospitalized for prostate cancer, leaving a dispute over ownership of the church.

Footnotes

References

* ''Weary Feet, Rested Souls: A Guided History of the Civil Rights Movement'' by Townsend Davis {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Clennon Washington Jr 20th-century African-American politicians 1920 births 2000 deaths Activists for African-American civil rights African-American candidates for President of the United States Alcorn State University faculty Candidates in the 1960 United States presidential election