African American Elected Officials
Countless African Americans in Champaign County have dedicated themselves to public service as volunteers, government employees, members of civic organizations, and elected representatives of individual communities. However, until 1972, no African American had been elected to a countywide office in Champaign County.
James R. Burgess Jr. was born in Tennessee on December 19, 1915, to James R. Burgess Sr. and Ida B. Burgess. In 1941, he was drafted into the US Army and became a leader of the 761st Tank Battalion—the first African American armored unit to see combat in the European Theater of Operations in World War II—and served for ten years in the Counterintelligence Corps. He married Doris A. Murray in 1946 and they had two sons, Robert and Stephen Burgess. After 20 years’ duty, Burgess left the army to attend law school at the University of Illinois in 1962.
Only a few years later, he announced his own campaign to lead that office as the county’s State’s Attorney. History was made on November 7, 1972, when he won the election, becoming the first African American in Champaign County elected to a countywide office and the first African American State’s Attorney anywhere in Illinois.
As State’s Attorney, Burgess served the public faithfully and developed a reputation for honesty and practicality. When he lost re-election in 1976 by only 98 votes, four members of the State’s Attorney Office staff resigned as a sign of solidarity and loyalty.
Despite the loss, Burgess’ story was far from over. His reputation and work ethic led to his being nominated to serve as the US Attorney of the Eastern District of Illinois. The US Senate confirmed him to the post on July 13, 1977.
After his career in public office, Burgess opened a private law practice in Champaign which he ran until his death on June 22, 1997. Despite his death, his legacy as an active and influential member of his community lived on. In 2014, President Barack Obama signed into law legislation that designated the US Post Office at 302 E. Green Street in Champaign as the James R. Burgess Jr. Post Office Building.
Paul Hursey was born in Urbana on July 24, 1930, to Edgar Calhoun and Caddy Gray Hursey. After graduating from Urbana High School, he attended the University of Illinois from 1948 to 1951, and then served in the United States Army and was selected to attend Officer Candidate School. He was commissioned to a Second Lieutenant and served from 1951 to 1953. He passed away on March 14, 2017.
Sources:
Champaign County Historical Archives at The Urbana Free Library. Transcript of interview with Paul S. Hursey by Shirley Walker. https://archivescatalog.urbanafreelibrary.org/polaris/custom/repository/000400000016.pdf
LocalWiki. Paul Hursey. https://localwiki.org/cu/Paul_Hursey
News-Gazette. “A Life Remembered: Urbana’s first black elected official a local civil-rights icon.” https://www.news-gazette.com/news/a-life-remembered-urbanas-first-black-elected-official-a-local-civil-rights-icon/article_4067c8ba-0bc8-5046-9c66-085afb827e3a.html
State of Illinois. Senate Resolution 0369. https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/100/SR/10000SR0369.htm
Kenneth Stratton was a teacher and administrator with the Champaign Unit 4 School District for 33 years. He also became the first Black Councilman elected to the Champaign City Council in 1961. Additionally, he served as president of the Champaign Education Association, a member of the William F. Earnest American Legion Post 559, and on the Board of Directors of United Way and the Frances Nelson Health Center. He also was a charter member of the Don Moyer Boys Club and the Champaign County Urban League.
He was influential and active in local civil rights issues. He was an organizer of integrating the Champaign school system, Champaign housing, and hiring practices at Burnham Hospital and in downtown Champaign. He was also a member of the Black Coalition for Equal Opportunity Employment.
The Stratton Academy of the Arts, an arts-themed, K-5 magnet school in Champaign, was named after him in recognition of his contributions.
Sources:
Museum of the Grand Prairie. Your Legacy Too. https://www.museumofthegrandprairie.org/Portals/0/adam/Content/14Crz9HudUCRxdOtiyv1mA/Link/YOUR%20LEGACY%20TOO.pdf
Through the Years: African-American History in Champaign County. Fall 2002/Winter 2003. https://eblackcu.net/portal/archive/files/tty_2002_2003_fe8ba14ec1.pdf
Richard Roy Edwards, Sr., was born on June 11, 1897 as the youngest son of Elias Lawrence Edwards and Margaret Ford Edwards. In his twenties, Edwards moved to Champaign County and married Ora Thornhill. Together they had a son, Richard Roy, Jr.
He became the first African American Letter Carrier in Champaign when he was hired by the U.S. Postal Service, and accepted the position of County Probation Officer after retiring. Edwards was also very active in the Champaign Unit #4 School District, becoming the first African American elected to the board in 1957. Edwards remained on the board until 1968. From 1964 until 1968, he held the position of School Board Secretary.
Edwards was a longtime member of the Morning Star Freewill Baptist Church, a 50-year member of the Blue Lone Star Lodge #18. He died on December 18, 1988.
Sources:
Raymond Bial’s In All My Years: Portraits of Older Blacks in Champaign-Urbana. Champaign County Historical Museum. 1983. https://eblackcu.net/portal/archive/files/bial-in-all-my-years-1985-addition_6bd5e3918f_a6697c3470.pdf
Museum of the Grand Prairie. Your Legacy Too. https://www.museumofthegrandprairie.org/Portals/0/adam/Content/14Crz9HudUCRxdOtiyv1mA/Link/YOUR%20LEGACY%20TOO.pdf
Born on September 12, 1925, Anna Wall Scott grew into an active member of her community, her state, and her country. Immediately after high school, she enlisted in the United States Army as one of the first Women’s Army Corps members. She credited her military service with preparing her for a future in politics and academia.
After her military service, she was appointed by Mayor Stanley B. Weaver to the City of Urbana’s Charter Human Relations Commission and served as Chair of the Subcommittee on Education. In 1961, she led efforts to desegregate the Champaign Department of Public Aid. By 1974, she was the first woman to be elected to the Democratic State Central Committee in the state of Illinois, which oversaw seven counties in East Central Illinois. Also in 1974, she began serving as Vice-Chair of the State Democratic Party with Chicago’s late Mayor Richard J. Daley. She held the position for four years, serving as delegate to the Nominating Convention that led to the election of President Jimmy Carter. Later in life, she changed political parties and became a Republican.
Scott was also a longtime member of the Bethel A.M.E. Church, William F. Earnest American Legion Post 559, and professor at Parkland College, teaching sociology courses for 40 years.
Sources:
Local Wiki. Anna Wall Scott. https://localwiki.org/cu/Anna_Wall_Scott
News-Gazette. “A Life Remembered │Anna Wall Scott ‘a dynamic lady,’ powerful voice for social change. https://www.news-gazette.com/news/a-life-remembered-anna-wall-scott-a-dynamic-lady-powerful-voice-for-social-change/article_7e3d58f4-52c7-5cb9-b790-c6b9f4634de3.html
A Salute to Those Who Served. https://usveterans.news-gazette.com/veteran/anna-wall-scott/
Carol Ammons became the first African American woman elected to the 103rd District of the Illinois House of Representatives in 2014. As of 2023, she is currently serving in her fifth term representing the District, which covers the Champaign-Urbana area.
As an elected Representative, Ammons serves or has served as the Chair of High Education and the House Democratic Conference in 2021 and 2022, and as members of the following committees: Appropriations-Higher Education, Campaign Finance Subcommittee, Counties & Townships, Economic Opportunity & Equity, Energy & Environment, and Higher Education. She has also been appointed to serve on the Commission on Equitable Public University Funding, the Higher Education in Prisons, and the Comprehensive License Information to Minimize Barriers (CLIMB) Task Force, and she was appointed Deputy-Secretary of the African Union Diaspora 6th Region-Illinois.
In 2019, she received the National Shining Star Award from the National Organization of Black-Elected Legislative Women (N.O.B.E.L). She serves in the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus as the Joint Chairwoman and formerly served as Secretary and Treasurer of the Illinois House Democratic Women’s Caucus. She is a member, as of 2023, of the Illinois House Progressive Caucus, the Asian American Caucus, and the Vice-Chair of the Illinois House Democratic Women’s Caucus.
As of 2023, she has dedicated nearly sixteen years of service in elected office at the county, city, and state levels.
Source:
About State Representative Carol Ammons. http://www.staterepcarolammons.com/read-me
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