Samuel J. Smith (July 23, 1922 – November 16, 1995) was a member of the

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

and the

Seattle City Council The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-larg ...

. He was the first African-American to serve as a Seattle city councilman.

Early life

Smith was born on July 23, 1922, in

Gibsland, Louisiana Gibsland is a town in Bienville Parish in northern Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 773. The town is best known for its connecting railroads, as the birthplace of the defunct historically black Coleman Colleg ...

to a

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 ...

minister. Smith served stateside in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary 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 the United Stat ...

during World War II; in 1942 he was stationed in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

and, on discharge, decided to stay there. He went on to receive degrees from

Seattle University Seattle University (Seattle U or SU) is a private Jesuit university in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest independent university in the Northwestern United States, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and grad ...

(Social science, 1951) and the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

(Economics, 1952) and went to work for the

Boeing Company The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

Political career

In 1958, Smith defeated Republican Charles Stokes for a seat in the

representing Washington's 37th legislative district. Smith's victory over Stokes, the third African-American elected to the Washington legislature, made him just the fourth African-American to win a seat in the state house, as well as the second from the Democratic Party. One of his first acts in the legislature was to introduce a bill that would have banned discrimination based on race or religion in the rental or sale of homes. The measure eventually passed in his final term. Smith was reelected to three additional terms, serving in the legislature until January 1967 when he left to seek a seat on the Seattle City Council, which he won. Smith continued to serve on the council until 1991 when he was defeated for reelection due, in part, to mobilization of Seattle's

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

community, who were upset with some of his socially conservative positions. Smith served as president of the city council for eight years and ran unsuccessfully for

Mayor of Seattle The Mayor of Seattle is the Head of government, head of the executive branch of the Government of Seattle, city government of Seattle, Washington. The mayor is authorized by the city charter to enforce laws enacted by the Seattle City Council, a ...

four times during his council tenure.

Wife

Smith's wife, Marion King Smith, campaigned for Smith's former seat in the legislature in 1970, but was defeated by Republican

Michael Ross Michael or Mike Ross may refer to: Politics * Mike Ross (politician) (born 1961), former United States Representative from Arkansas's 4th congressional district * Michael Ross (Washington politician) (1941–2007), member of the Washington House ...

. Smith would later attribute Ross' victory over his wife to a defection of Smith's traditional allies among the district's black leaders who were "afraid that the power in the black community was too centered on me. They knew I would be helping her

arion Arion (; ) was a kitharode in ancient Greece, a Dionysiac poet credited with inventing the dithyramb. The islanders of Lesbos claimed him as their native son, but Arion found a patron in Periander, tyrant of Corinth. Although notable for his mu ...

make decisions, and they didn't want me to have that kind of reach."

Death

Smith suffered from ill health in his later years and lost a leg to

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

in 1985. He died at his home in the Seward Park neighborhood of Seattle on November 16, 1995, at the age of 73. A park in Seattle is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Sam 1922 births 1995 deaths African-American state legislators in Washington (state) Democratic Party members of the Washington House of Representatives People from Gibsland, Louisiana Seattle City Council members Seattle University alumni University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences alumni African-American city council members in Washington (state) 20th-century African-American politicians United States Army personnel of World War II 20th-century members of the Washington State Legislature

Early life

Political career

Wife

Death

See also

References