Mervyn Malcolm Dymally (May 12, 1926 – October 7, 2012) was an American politician from

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. A Democrat, he served in the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

(1963–1966) and the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature (the lower house being the California State Assembly). The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. ...

(1967–1975), as the 41st

lieutenant governor of California The lieutenant governor of California is the second highest Executive (government), executive officer of the government of the U.S. state of California. The Lieutenant governor (United States), lieutenant governor is elected to serve a four-yea ...

(1975–1979), and in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the 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 Article One of th ...

(1981–1993). Dymally returned to politics a decade later to again serve in the California State Assembly (2003–2008). Dymally was the second African-American to hold statewide office in California, following Wilson Riles, who served as California Superintendent of Public Instruction starting in 1971.

Early life and education

Born in Cedros,

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

, Dymally first received his secondary education at Naparima College before transferring to Saint Benedict's College, both in San Fernando. He is of

Dougla Dougla people (plural ''Dougla’s'') is the term used to describe Caribbean people who are of mixed Afro-Caribbean and Indo-Caribbean. Definition The word ''Dougla'' originated from dogala (), which is a Caribbean Hindustani word that literall ...

(mixed African and Indian) descent. He moved to the United States to study journalism at Lincoln University in

Jefferson City, Missouri Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Missouri. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 United States census, ranking as the List of cities in Missouri, 16th most popu ...

. After a semester there, he moved to the greater

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

area to attend

Chapman University Chapman University is a private research university in Orange, California, United States. Encompassing eleven colleges, the university is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". The school maintains its foundi ...

, and completed a Bachelor of Arts in education at

California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degree programs, 122 m ...

in 1954. Dymally became a member of

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911, at Indiana University Bloomington, it has n ...

fraternity in 1949. Dymally became a U.S. citizen in 1957. In 1969, while serving in the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...

, he earned a master's degree in government from

California State University, Sacramento California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California, United States. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is part of the California State Universit ...

. Dymally earned his doctorate in human behavior from United States International University (later merged into

Alliant International University Alliant International University is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit university with its main campus in San Diego, five additional campuses in California (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Irv ...

) in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

Career

Dymally was first elected to the California State Assembly, the lower house of the state Legislature, in 1962, from District 53; he was re-elected in 1964. He was elected to the California State Senate, the Legislature's upper house, in 1966; initially for a two-year term. The

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

had ruled that state legislatures must reapportion their upper houses on the basis of population; in the process in California, the even-numbered districts elected their senators for full four-year terms in 1966. As Dymally was in District 29, he had to run again in 1968; he won and was re-elected in 1972.

Lt. Governor

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

, Dymally was elected lieutenant governor (49.2%-46.3%) over Republican incumbent John L. Harmer, who had just been appointed to fill a vacancy in the office a month earlier and until then had been Dymally's colleague in the state Senate. Dymally was the first

Trinidadian Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The population of Trinidad is notably diverse, with approximately 35% Indo-Trinidadian, 34% ...

to serve California as a state senator and as lieutenant governor. He and George L. Brown of

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

became the first two

African Americans 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 ...

elected to the office of lieutenant governor since Oscar Dunn did so in

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

during

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

. In the tightly contested race for lieutenant governor in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

, Dymally's bid for re-election was derailed when Michael Franchetti, an aide to State Senator

George Deukmejian Courken George Deukmejian Jr. ( ; June 6, 1928May 8, 2018) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of California from 1983 to 1991. A member of the Republican Party, he was the state's first governor of Armenian descent. B ...

, floated a false rumor that Dymally was about to be

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an indi ...

. The story, coming days before the election, harmed the Dymally campaign, and Dymally lost to Republican

Mike Curb Michael Curb (born December 24, 1944) is an American politician, record executive, and philanthropist who served as the 42nd Lieutenant Governor of California, lieutenant governor of California from 1979 to 1983. He is the founder of Curb Recor ...

. Franchetti later said that the source of the rumor was a ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' reporter, who called the Justice Department trying to confirm its authenticity. Franchetti could not substantiate the rumor but included it in a report. The report was passed to Curb's office with the rumor part erased, after which it moved to broadcaster Bill Stout, who announced it as fact on Los Angeles radio station

KNX (AM) KNX () is a commercial AM radio station in Los Angeles, California. It simulcasts an all news radio format with sister station 97.1 KNX-FM, both owned by Audacy, Inc. KNX is one of the oldest stations in the United States, having received its f ...

and its CBS affiliates. (Stout's wife worked for Curb.) Then-Attorney General Evelle J. Younger filed a letter of reprimand in Franchetti's personnel records, accusing him of a breach of responsibility.Stewart, Jocelyn Y. (February 22, 2007
"Obituaries: Michael Franchetti, 64; financial advisor to former Gov. Deukmejian"
''Los Angeles Times''. Retrieved January 12, 2009. Dymally was an old friend of Peoples Temple founder

Jim Jones James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American cult leader, preacher and mass murderer who founded and led the Peoples Temple between 1955 and 1978. Jones and the members of his inner circle planned and orchestrat ...

.Flynn, Daniel (2011-11-17
The Original Kool-Aid Drinkers
''

The American Conservative ''The American Conservative'' (''TAC'') is a bimonthly magazine published by the American Ideas Institute. The magazine was founded in 2002 by Pat Buchanan, Scott McConnell and Taki Theodoracopulos to advance an anti- neoconservative perspect ...

''. Accessed September 5, 2022. When Jones decided to move his congregation to

Jonestown The Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, better known by its informal name "Jonestown", was a remote settlement in Guyana established by the Peoples Temple, an American religious movement under the leadership of Jim Jones. Jonestown became in ...

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

, Dymally "wrote the Guyanese prime minister orbes Burnhamto reassure him that Jones was an upstanding citizen." The Jonestown compound would be the site of the mass suicide of over 900 people on November 18, 1978.

Congress

In 1980, two years after losing the lieutenant governorship, Dymally ran for Congress in District 31, against former U.S. representative Mark W. Hannaford (who had served two terms in a nearby district) and 18-year incumbent Charles H. Wilson, who had been reprimanded by his U.S. House colleagues for financial misconduct in the Koreagate scandal. Dymally won the primary with 49% of the vote, to 24% for Hannaford and just 15% for Wilson; he went on to defeat Republican Don Grimshaw in the general election, 64%-36%. He was one of the first persons of

(mixed African and Indian) origin to serve in Congress. In 1983 Dymally joined with seven other U.S. representatives to sponsor a resolution to impeach Ronald Reagan over his sudden and unexpected

invasion of Grenada The United States and a Caribbean Peace Force, coalition of Caribbean countries invaded the small island nation of Grenada, north of Venezuela, at dawn on 25 October 1983. Codenamed Operation Urgent Fury by the U.S. military, it resulted in m ...

. He retired in 1992, after six terms in Congress. In the 1990s, Dymally served as a paid lobbyist for the country of

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

, attempting to present the country as engaged in abolishing every remnant of

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

Return to state assembly

Dymally came out of retirement and returned to the State Assembly in 2002 when Assemblyman Carl Washington was

term limit A term limit is a legal restriction on the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potential for monopoly, w ...

ed. He served for six years and then, himself term-limited, ran to return to the State Senate in 2008. At 82, he was defeated in the Senate primary by Rod Wright.

Death and burial

Dymally died in Los Angeles and is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in

Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights to the ea ...

Legacy

Mervyn M. Dymally High School, at 88th and San Pedro streets in

South Central Los Angeles South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of Downtown Los Angeles, downtown. It is de ...

and part of the

Los Angeles Unified School District Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a State school, public school district in Los Angeles County, California, United States of America. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the List ...

, is named in his honor.

Congressional electoral history

References

External links

record
from the ''Washington Post'' *
Join California Mervyn M. Dymally
* , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Dymally, Mervyn M. 1926 births 2012 deaths 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 21st-century members of the California State Legislature African-American members of the United States House of Representatives Members of the United States House of Representatives of Asian descent African-American state legislators in California California politicians of Indian descent American memoirists Democratic Party California state senators California State University, Sacramento alumni Trinidad and Tobago people of Indian descent Lieutenant governors of California Lincoln University (Missouri) alumni Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly Members of the United States Congress of Indian descent Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California People from Siparia region Trinidad and Tobago emigrants to the United States United States International University alumni 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians Politicians from Compton, California Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City People educated at Naparima College Members of Congress who became lobbyists