Julius Hobson
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Julius Wilson Hobson (May 29, 1922March 23, 1977) was an American activist and politician. He served on the
Council of the District of Columbia The Council of the District of Columbia (or simply D.C. Council) is the legislative branch of the government of the District of Columbia. As permitted in the United States Constitution, the district is not part of any U.S. state and is overseen ...
and the District of Columbia Board of Education.


Early life

Hobson was a native of
Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...
. He was the son of Irma (Gordon) and Julius Hobson. His mother was a schoolteacher and later a principal. His father died when he was a very young child. His mother remarried a man who had a dry-cleaning plant and a drugstore. As a child, Hobson worked at a public library, where he could clean the floors, but he was not allowed to borrow books. He read a lot of books about abolitionist John Brown, who he said was the greatest and most under-appreciated American in history. He graduated from Industrial High School, the only public high school in Birmingham that allowed black children to attend. While attending
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 ...
, he was called away from his studies due to
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 ...
. During the war, 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 Europe. He was awarded three bronze stars for his many piloting missions. After returning from the war, Hobson graduated from
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 ...
. After graduation, he moved to
Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...
and attended
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
. He did not learn well from the lecture-style classes, and he left after a few months. In 1946, he moved to
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 ...
to attend graduate school in
economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
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 ...
. He particularly loved the visiting professors and the small classroom sizes at Howard. For his first job after graduation, he worked as a researcher for the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
. He wrote papers on economic theory for Congress. After about six years, he changed jobs and worked at the
Social Security Administration The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government that administers Social Security (United ...
.


Activism

Walking his son to school, past the all-white school to Slowe Elementary School in Northeast, Washington, D.C., gave Hobson the drive to fight for school desegregation. He was elected president of the school's parent-teacher association, and he argued that overcrowding at black schools would be alleviated if white schools were to admit black students. During the 1960s, Hobson served as the chair of the Washington chapter of the
Congress of Racial Equality The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States that played a pivotal role for African Americans in the civil rights movement. Founded in 1942, its stated mission is "to bring about ...
. While a part of the organization, he led several
sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...
s. Hobson later joined a local civic association, where he marched the streets of Downtown, Washington, D.C., with signs encouraging shoppers to boycott stores that would not hire black employees. When Hobson threatened to encourage a boycott of the city's bus system because the system would not employ black drivers, the bus system backed down and hired 44 black employees. The group helped desegregate restaurants in Maryland and Delaware, ended discrimination in
public housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...
in the District of Columbia and forced private businesses to open
employment Employment is a relationship between two party (law), parties Regulation, regulating the provision of paid Labour (human activity), labour services. Usually based on a employment contract, contract, one party, the employer, which might be a cor ...
to black people. He practiced
non-violence Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
, although he would say he did not go around saying he was non-violent because violence was never his intention. When the
Congress of Racial Equality The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States that played a pivotal role for African Americans in the civil rights movement. Founded in 1942, its stated mission is "to bring about ...
expelled him from the organization for being too authoritative, Hobson and his closest associates formed a new civil rights organization, Associated Community Teams. When Hobson's ten-year-old daughter Jean was assigned the lowest educational track, Hobson sued the public school system. In the case of Hobson v. Hansen, he displayed many charts for the court as evidence that the District spent more on each white student than on each black student. The court ruled in his favor, banning discrimination in the District of Columbia Public Schools and stopping its overly rigid system of grouping students by ability on June 19, 1967. Hobson was elected to an
at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather tha ...
seat on the District of Columbia Board of Education in 1968. He decided to run again for a seat representing Ward 2 the next year, but he lost the race to Evie Mae Washington. In an effort to protest the employment discrimination practiced by Pepco, Hobson distributed stamps that were intended to be pasted on check payments sent to Pepco that would prevent Pepco's computers from processing the checks. He was later ordered by court to stop distributing the stamps. In 1969, Hobson founded the Washington Institute for Quality Education, a
nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
dedicated to ending discrimination in schools. Hobson taught a class at
American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...
on social problems and the legal system. His students researched whether the legal system could be a recourse to remedy problems in society. The D.C. Statehood Party was founded to convince Hobson to run under the party for District's 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 ...
. Hobson announced his candidacy under the Statehood Party on January 15, 1971. He lost to Democrat Walter E. Fauntroy. Hobson was elected in 1974 as one of the at-large members of the
Council of the District of Columbia The Council of the District of Columbia (or simply D.C. Council) is the legislative branch of the government of the District of Columbia. As permitted in the United States Constitution, the district is not part of any U.S. state and is overseen ...
at its creation, and he served in that position until his death in 1977. In a 1972 interview, Hobson said one contemporary he admired was Sterling Tucker, not because he agreed with him on everything, but because he was smart and cunning, worked with everyone, and had many political accomplishments. Hobson was the People's Party vice presidential candidate in 1972.
Benjamin Spock Benjamin McLane Spock (May 2, 1903–March 15, 1998), widely known as Dr. Spock, was an American pediatrician, Olympian athlete and left-wing political activist. His book '' Baby and Child Care'' (1946) is one of the best-selling books of ...
was the People's Party presidential candidate. They polled 0.1014% of the popular vote and no
electoral votes An electoral college is a body whose task is to elect a candidate to a particular office. It is mostly used in the political context for a constitutional body that appoints the head of state or government, and sometimes the upper parliamenta ...
.


FBI Informant

In 1981, ''The Washington Post'' revealed that documents in the
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
file on Hobson revealed that he had once provided information to the FBI about the black freedom movement. It reported that "there are 29 specific reports over a five-year period of Hobson giving information to agents contained in the massive 1,575-page file obtained by The Post through the Freedom assembled the file on Hobson over a nearly 20-year period from the 1950s to the early 1970s. The file indicates, among other things, that Hobson gave the FBI information on advanced planning for the historic March on Washington led by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963 and was paid $100 to $300 in expenses to monitor and report on civil rights demonstration plans at the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City. On another occasion, he reported on a 1965 meeting in Detroit involving a revolutionary black group and, on still another, he warned agents of possible violence at a Philadelphia demonstration that same year, according to the file." The article also reported that FBI Agent Elmer Lee Todd "said he met regularly with Hobson — sometimes as often as twice a month — from about 1961 to late 1964, mostly to discuss and assess potentially violent or disruptive demonstrations, organizations and individuals in the civil rights movement." The article does not indicate that Hobson, who the FBI also monitored for his activism, provided information to the FBI after 1965. In 1995, Cartha DeLoach, the third most senior official in the FBI, described Hobson as "a paid FBI informant" in his book, ''Hoover's FBI: The Inside Story by Hoover's Trusted Lieutenant''.


Personal life

While attending Howard University, Hobson met Carol Smith. They married in 1947, and they had a son Julius Hobson Jr. and a daughter Jean Hobson. Carol filed for divorce in 1966, citing religious differences and that Hobson occasionally prioritized activism over the needs of his family. Three months later, he was on his second date with Tina Lower when he asked her to marry him. Tina was originally from
Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...
, a graduate of
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
, and an employee at the National Institute for Public Affairs. He admired her sense of peace and justice. She was divorced with two teenage sons. Some local activists criticized Hobson for having a relationship with Tina, saying he "talked black but dated white."


Death

After experiencing persistent back pain, Hobson was diagnosed with a form of cancer of the spine called
multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibody, antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone ...
In 1971. He later learned he also had acute leukemia. Hobson died of leukemia at George Washington University Hospital on March 23, 1977. At the time of his death, his son, Julius Hobson Jr., was a member of the District of Columbia Board of Education.


Memorials

In 1980, a group of co-operative apartment buildings at First and M streets and New York Avenue NW built in the 1930s were rehabilitated, renamed the Julius Hobson Plaza Condominiums, and sold as condos. In 1979, the Edmonds School on Capitol Hill was closed, and the students and staff moved to Watkins Elementary School as the Region 4 Middle School. In 1981, the school was renamed the Julius W. Hobson Middle School. In 1986, schools in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington were reorganized, and Stuart Middle School was combined with Hobson to create Stuart-Hobson Middle School.


Quotes


References


External links


"Guide to the Papers of Julius Hobson" Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library Washingtoniana Division


{{DEFAULTSORT:Hobson, Julius 1922 births 1977 deaths Deaths from multiple myeloma in the United States African-American people in Washington, D.C., politics African-American candidates for Vice President of the United States American civil rights activists American University faculty D.C. Statehood Green Party politicians Howard University alumni Members of the Council of the District of Columbia Members of the District of Columbia Board of Education Politicians from Birmingham, Alabama People's Party (United States, 1971) politicians Tuskegee University alumni 1972 United States vice-presidential candidates Military personnel from Birmingham, Alabama