November 29

Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. 

Baptist Pastor and Congressman, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. was born on November 29, 1908 in New Haven, Connecticut. Powell was one of the most powerful members of the US House of Representatives chairing the Education and Labor Committee.   He represented Harlem in congress from 1945 to 1971.

His father, Adam Clayton Powell, Sr. was the pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, New York. Under his father's leadership, the church grew to have the largest Protestant congregation in the United States with 10,000 members.  Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. followed his father as pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church.  Powell died on April 4, 1972 in Miami, Florida at age 63. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr delivers his "What's In Your Hand" speech.