Floy Mae Clements (née Stephens November 20, 1891 – September 29, 1973) was an American actress and politician in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. She was the first African American woman to serve in the

Illinois General Assembly The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in ...

upon her election to the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

in 1958. Earlier in her life she was an actress in two of

Oscar Micheaux Oscar Devereaux Micheaux (; January 2, 1884 – March 25, 1951) was an American author, film director and independent producer of more than 44 films. Although the short-lived Lincoln Motion Picture Company was the first movie company owned and c ...

films.

Biography

Floy Mae Clements was born November 20, 1891, in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, to Alexander Stephens and Katie Stephens Smith. Her family moved to Chicago when she was three. Her father opened a chain of restaurants on the south side of the city. She attended Wendell Phillips High School followed by

Wilberforce University Wilberforce University (WU) is a private university in Wilberforce, Ohio. It is one of three historically black universities established before the American Civil War. Founded in 1856 by the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC), it is named after ...

, where she graduated with a degree in social studies. While at Wilberforce, she portrayed Alma Prichard in the 1920

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

drama '' Within Our Gates'', directed by

, and starring

Evelyn Preer Evelyn Preer (née Jarvis; July 26, 1896 – November 17, 1932), was an African Americans, African American pioneering screen and stage actress, and jazz and blues singer in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood during the late-1910s through the ea ...

. She also had a supporting role in Micheaux's 1920 film '' The Brute''. Clements moved back to Chicago, settling in the Grand Boulevard community. In 1927, she joined the 4th Ward Democratic Organization as a precinct captain during a time when few African Americans supported the Democratic Party. She would eventually serve as the committeewoman under four different elected Ward Committeeman. In 1935, she was a member of the Negro Women’s Division of the Illinois Democratic Women’s Club. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Clements was a member of the

American Red Cross Motor Corps American Red Cross Motor Corps (also known as American Red Cross Motor Service) was founded in 1917 by the American Red Cross (ARC). The service was composed of women and it was developed to render supplementary aid to the United States Army, U.S. ...

. Other notable civic involvement included service as Grand Traveling Deputy of the State of Illinois for the

Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the World The Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the World (IBPOEW) is an African-American fraternal order modeled on the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. It was established in 1897 in the United States. In the early 21st century, i ...

, Worthy Matron of the Electa Chapter and Grand Officer of the Eureka Grand Chapter of the

Prince Hall Order of the Eastern Star The Prince Hall Order of the Eastern Star is a Masonic appendant body affiliated with Prince Hall Freemasonry. It functions as a predominantly African-American equivalent of the mainstream Order of the Eastern Star. History The idea for the crea ...

and service to St. Mark Methodist Church. Clements ran for the Illinois House of Representatives in the 1958 primary with the backing of 4th ward Alderman

Claude Holman Claude Holman (January 31, 1904 – June 1, 1973) was an American lawyer and politician. Holman was born in Topeka, Kansas. He went to Crane Junior College and Loyola University Chicago. Holman received his law degree from John Marshall La ...

. She was sworn into office on January 7, 1959. When asked why she entered politics and ran as a Democrat, she responded, “I have always, all my life, voted the straight Democratic ticket. I feel it is the party that has done most for Negroes.” According to the Chicago Tribune, the Moline Dispatch reported in 1958 that “Mrs. Clements said she was drafted for the post” and “has no particular political ambitions.” She served as one of three representatives from the 22nd district with Republican

Elwood Graham Elwood Graham (April 10, 1902 – October 9, 1978) was a state legislator in Illinois. He served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1957 to 1965 and again from 1967 to 1973. He was a Republican Party (United States), Republican. In 19 ...

and fellow Democrat Charles F. Armstrong. During her single term in the House, Clements was assigned to the following committees; Education; Military & Veteran Affairs; Public Aid, Health Welfare and Safety; and Roads & Bridges. She was succeeded by

Lycurgus Conner Lycurgus J. Conner (November 17, 1909 – May 28, 1963) was a lawyer, judge, and state legislator. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Conner received his bachelor and law degrees from the University of Chicago. Conner was a lawyer and served as an assist ...

. Floy Clements died in

Niles, Illinois Niles is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, located in the townships of Maine Township, Cook County, Illinois, Maine and Niles Township, Cook County, Illinois, Niles, directly neighboring Chicago's far northwest border. Per the 2 ...

, and is buried at Lincoln Cemetery in Worth Township, Illinois.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clements, Floy 1891 births 1973 deaths 20th-century American women politicians Actresses from Memphis, Tennessee African-American state legislators in Illinois 20th-century African-American women politicians American silent film actresses 20th-century African-American actresses 20th-century American actresses Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Politicians from Chicago Wilberforce University alumni Women state legislators in Illinois 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly

Biography

See also

References