Robert A. Kerr (1842 – January 12, 1912) or (December 23, 1833 – January 7, 1913) or (1841 – April 28, 1912) was an American politician, barber, bookkeeper, civic leader, and shipping clerk. He helped establish the first high school for African Americans in
Bastrop County, Texas
Bastrop County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in Central Texas and its county seat is Bastrop.
As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,216. Bastrop County is included in the Austin–Round Rock, Texas, metropolita ...
, when he was a member of the Bastrop County School Board.Foner, Eric (1996) Freedom's Lawmakers. ''Louisiana State University Press''. p. 125.
He was born in
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abou ...
as a member of the
Greenback Party
The Greenback Party (known successively as the Independent Party, the National Independent Party and the Greenback Labor Party) was an American political party with an anti-monopoly ideology which was active between 1874 and 1889. The party ran ...
in 1880. He served on the Military Affairs Committee and was an opponent of the
convict lease system
Convict leasing was a system of forced penal labor which was practiced historically in the Southern United States, the laborers being mainly African-American men; it was ended during the 20th century. (Convict labor in general continues; f ...
. He ran unsuccessfully for reelection in 1882 as a Republican. Kerr was chosen as a delegate to the
1872 Republican National Convention
The 1872 Republican National Convention was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 5–6, 1872. President Ulysses S. Grant was unanimously nominated for reelection by the convention's 752 delegates. Massachusetts Senator Henry Wilson replaced ...
and was chosen as an alternate delegate for the
1892 Republican National Convention
The 1892 Republican National Convention was held at the Industrial Exposition Building, Minneapolis, Minnesota, from June 7 to June 10, 1892. The party nominated President Benjamin Harrison for re-election on the first ballot and Whitelaw Reid of ...
.
He and Harriel G. Geiger were the only African-Americans to be elected into the
Texas Legislature
The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the US state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful a ...
as representatives for the
Greenback Party
The Greenback Party (known successively as the Independent Party, the National Independent Party and the Greenback Labor Party) was an American political party with an anti-monopoly ideology which was active between 1874 and 1889. The party ran ...