American politician (1938?2007)
Julia Carson
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![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Carson_julia.jpg/220px-Carson_julia.jpg) |
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In office
January 3, 1997 ? December 15, 2007
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Preceded by
| Andrew Jacobs Jr.
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Succeeded by
| Andre Carson
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Constituency
| 10th district
(1997?2003)
7th district
(2003?2007)
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In office
November 3, 1976 ? November 30, 1990
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Preceded by
| Marie Lauck
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Succeeded by
| Billie Breaux
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In office
November 8, 1972 ? November 3, 1976
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Preceded by
| Constituency established
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Succeeded by
| Joseph W. Summers
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Born
| Julia May Porter
(
1938-07-08
)
July 8, 1938
Louisville, Kentucky
, U.S.
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Died
| December 15, 2007
(2007-12-15)
(aged 69)
Indianapolis, Indiana
, U.S.
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Resting place
| Crown Hill Cemetery
, Indianapolis
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Political party
| Democratic
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Spouse
| Divorced
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Alma mater
| Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
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Julia May Carson
(nee
Porter
; July 8, 1938 ? December 15, 2007) was an American politician who served as a member of the
United States House of Representatives
for
Indiana's 7th congressional district
from 1997 until she died in 2007 (numbered as the 10th District from 1997 to 2003).
[1]
Carson was the first woman and first
African American
to represent Indianapolis in the U.S. Congress. She was also the second African American woman elected to
Congress
from
Indiana
, after
Katie Hall
, and her grandson
Andre Carson
succeeded to her seat following her death.
Early life, education and family life
[
edit
]
Carson was born in
Louisville, Kentucky
. Her mother, Velma V. Porter, was an unmarried teenager. However, she moved to
Indianapolis
while Julia was still a girl and worked as a domestic to support her family. Julia also worked part-time, waiting tables, delivering newspapers, and harvesting crops, among other jobs, to support her family before graduating from
Crispus Attucks High School
in 1955,
[2]
as well as while attending
Martin University
in Indianapolis and
Indiana University ? Purdue University Indianapolis
. She was a
Zeta Phi Beta
sorority member. She married after graduation and had two children, Sam and Tonya, but divorced Carson while the children were still young.
[1]
Career
[
edit
]
In 1965, while a single mother and working as a secretary at
UAW
Local 550, Carson was hired away by newly elected congressman
Andrew Jacobs Jr.
, a Democrat, to do casework in his Indianapolis office. When his electoral prospects looked dim in 1972 (which turned out to be a Republican landslide), Jacobs encouraged Carson to run for the
Indiana House of Representatives
, which she did. She won election from the central Indianapolis district in 1972, and re-election.
[3]
She served as a delegate for four years and rose to become assistant minority caucus chair. The legislature was a part-time position, and Carson also worked as the human resources director at an electric company from 1973 to 1996.
[1]
She also once operated a clothing store, which failed and saddled her with debt for several years.
[4]
In 1976, at the urging of fellow Democrats, Carson arranged for prominent local businessman and fellow Democrat
Joseph W. Summers
to run for her house seat, as she successfully ran for the
Indiana Senate
. She won re-election and ultimately served in the Indiana Senate for 14 years, sitting on its finance committee and eventually holding the minority whip position before retiring in 1990.
[5]
[6]
Carson and
Katie Hall
(a fellow
Democrat
but from
Lake County
who also won an election that year) became the first African American women to win election to the Indiana Senate; the first African American to sit in that body had been Virginia-born civil rights attorney
Robert Lee Brokenburr
, a
Republican
who had died in 1974 and who represented part of Marion County for most of the period 1941?1964.
[7]
In 1990, Carson won election as the Trustee for
Center Township
(downtown Indianapolis), seemingly a step down from her legislative post, but with a considerable budget and administrative responsibilities. Carson assumed responsibility for running
welfare
in central Indianapolis and instituted a workfare program.
[4]
During Carson's six years as the Center Township Trustee, she created a $6 million
surplus
and erased the office's $20 million debt.
[8]
The county's auditor (a Republican) noted Carson "wrestled that monster to the ground."
[9]
Jacobs proclaimed Carson "not only took cheats off the welfare rolls, she
sued
them to get the money."
Congressional elections
[
edit
]
When Jacobs retired in 1996, Carson ran as his replacement in the 10th Congressional District, winning the Democratic Party's endorsement, 49 percent to 31 percent, despite being heavily outspent in the primary by party chairman Ann DeLaney.
In the general election, Carson faced Republican
Virginia Murphy Blankenbaker
, a state senator and stockbroker who, like Carson, was a grandmother with
liberal
views on
abortion
and the
death penalty
. Although the district was 68% white and conservative-leaning, each raised similar sums of money, but Carson won, with 53 percent of the vote versus 45 percent for Blankenbaker. Soon after that, Carson underwent double heart bypass surgery on January 4, 1997, which years later produced complications. Carson was sworn into office from her hospital bed on January 9, 1997, and could not travel to Washington, D.C., until early March.
[1]
Carson won reelection with little difficulty in 1998 and 2000. Her 2000 campaign attracted President
Bill Clinton
's personal appearance, drawing thousands to the Indiana State Fairgrounds. In 2003, Carson helped win $11 million in federal funding for transportation initiatives in Indianapolis, including highway expansion, street improvements, and improved public transportation. In 2005, Carson sponsored the $40 billion Amtrak?re-authorization bill (the National Defense Rail Act), which provided for new rail lines, including high?speed rail corridors. In 2006, Carson traveled from Washington, D.C., to Indianapolis aboard
Air Force One
with President
George W. Bush
to appear at the Indiana Black Expo.
Her health (including asthma, hypertension, and diabetes) became an issue in tighter-than-expected races beginning in 2002. After Indiana lost a Congressional district following the 2000
census
, her district was renumbered as the 7th District and included slightly more registered Republicans than its predecessor. In a heated campaign that led to Carson leaving the stage in protest in the final pre-election debate with Republican public affairs specialist Brose McVey, she won re-election 53 percent to 44 percent. Carson won re-election by about 11 points in 2004, defeating Republican Andrew Horning and Libertarian Barry Campbell.
Carson defeated
Eric Dickerson
in the
2006 election
54 percent to 46 percent, a narrow 8-point margin in a year when most incumbent Democrats skated to victory.
[10]
In the same election, Democratic challengers toppled Republican incumbents in three Indiana districts much more conservative than Carson's. Carson was a member of the
Congressional Black Caucus
. She was one of the 31 who voted in the House not to count the
electoral votes
from
Ohio
in the
2004 presidential election
.
[11]
Notably Carson never lost an election throughout her entire career in both state and federal politics.
House record
[
edit
]
Carson won re-election numerous times, although redistricting added 100,000 people, many of them Republicans, to her district. She focused on issues that affected working-class Americans, many of which she experienced, and on constituent service. She won re-election rather handily during the next four elections. However, some criticized her for being somewhat unpredictable, particularly in votes for
anti-terrorism
bills and normal
trade
relations with
China
. Carson was one of the last representatives to support trade normalization with China in 2000 (because of its human rights record) and opposed the
Iraq War
resolution in 2002.
During the 105th Congress (1997?1999), Carson received posts on the Banking and Financial Services Committee (later renamed Financial Services) and the Veterans Affairs Committee and continued in those positions during the 106th and 107th Congresses. The Roudebush VA Medical Center was in her district, and she often visited recuperating veterans and could identify with many of their health problems. In the 108th Congress (2003?2005), Carson left Veterans Affairs to accept the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee assignment. Amtrak's largest repair facility was near Indianapolis, and she would sponsor Amtrak's largest reauthorization bill in 2005. Carson helped create the Indiana Mortgage and Foreclosure Hotline to counsel homeowners and potential buyers about the mortgage process, noting that although Indiana had one of the country's highest homeownership rates in 2001, it experienced a record number of foreclosures in 2004. She also regularly sponsored children's safety, health, and nutrition legislation, including comprehensive gun safety legislation (protecting children by requiring safety locks on handguns) in 1999.
[1]
Carson's legislative record included leading Congress to award
Rosa Parks
the
Congressional Gold Medal
in 1999 and 2005, allowing the civil rights icon to become the first woman to lie in state in the U.S. Capital Rotunda.
[1]
Carson also cosponsored, with (Republican) Sen.
Richard Lugar
, the removal of
bureaucratic
bottlenecks on child
health insurance
; and commemorating author
Kurt Vonnegut
(H.RES.324
[12]
). Other Congressional accomplishments included critical funding to revitalize Indianapolis's Fall Creek Neighborhood (which today includes some of the finest examples of reclaimed urban landscape in the U.S.). Carson also supported the new terminal for the
Indianapolis International Airport
, which opened on November 12, 2008. She was the first recipient of the
Frank O'Bannon
Award from Indiana Stonewall Democrats. Carson also co-sponsored the Equal Employment Non-Discrimination Act and was a member of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Equality Caucus in the U.S. House led by U.S. Representative
Barney Frank
, D-Massachusetts.
Illness and death
[
edit
]
On September 29, 2007, the
Indianapolis Star
reported that Carson had been an in-patient at Indianapolis's Methodist Hospital for eight days.
[13]
She was being treated for an infection in her leg near the area where a vein was removed in 1996 during double bypass heart surgery. Year-to-date, Carson had participated in 87 percent of the House votes, but had missed 42 of 77 votes during the month. Carson had battled
lung cancer
before. Still, it had gone into
remission
before being re-diagnosed during the leg vein treatment, as the
Star
announced on November 25.
[8]
She died on December 15, at the age of 69; her death was announced by her friend, former U.S. Representative
Andrew Jacobs Jr.
[14]
On December 21, Carson's casket was taken to the
Indiana Statehouse
in downtown Indianapolis by horse-drawn military caisson. She became the ninth Hoosier to lie in repose at the Statehouse Rotunda. An early-morning service was held in the statehouse, with remarks by Indiana Governor
Mitch Daniels
and Carson's grandson, Councilman
Andre Carson
.
[15]
Thousands of Hoosiers paid last respects, visiting the casket and attending an evening ceremony in the Statehouse. Celebrants included Jacobs, the Reverend
Jesse Jackson
, Indianapolis Mayor
Bart Peterson
(D), U.S. Representative
Brad Ellsworth
(D-Ind.), U.S. Representative
Baron Hill
(D-Ind.), U.S. Representative
Sheila Jackson Lee
(D-Texas), U.S. Representative
Diane Watson
(D-Calif.) and former
Gary, Indiana
mayor
Richard Hatcher
.
Rudolph M. Clay
, the then-incumbent mayor of Gary, presented a key to the city to the Carson family.
Carson's funeral was held at Eastern Star Baptist Church on December 22.
[16]
Speakers at included Governor Daniels (R), both U.S. Senator
Richard Lugar
( R-Ind.) and
Evan Bayh
(D-Ind.), former U.S. Senator
Birch Bayh
(D-Ind.), U.S. Representative
Pete Visclosky
(D-Ind.), U.S. Representative
Stephanie Tubbs Jones
(D-Ohio), Indiana House Speaker
B. Patrick Bauer
(D-South Bend), Indianapolis Mayor Peterson, radio host and Hoosier native
Tavis Smiley
, and Minister
Louis Farrakhan
. Carson was buried in
Crown Hill Cemetery
in Indianapolis; the graveside ceremony included a three-volley salute.
Legacy
[
edit
]
During her life, Carson was named the
Indianapolis Star
Woman of the Year in 1974 and 1991 and was inducted into the Indiana Public Schools Hall of Fame in 2006. A commemorative bust honoring her was unveiled in the Indiana statehouse in 2014,
[17]
and she was also remembered during Indiana's celebration of Women's History month in 2015.
[18]
Indianapolis named its local government center to honor Carson in 1997 and
its transit center
to honor her in 2016.
Ivy Tech Community College
named its new library and community space in Indianapolis to honor Carson in 2011.
[19]
Julia Carson's papers are held in the library of Indiana University in Indianapolis.
[20]
Indianapolis also wanted to award landmark status to her former home.
A special election
was held on March 11, 2008, to determine Carson's replacement in Congress.
[21]
Although he had won his first elective office (as an Indianapolis city councilman) only weeks before Carson's death, her grandson
Andre Carson
won the election, defeating Republican state representative
Jon Elrod
and Libertarian Sean Shepard. Andre Carson won the May 2008 Democratic Primary for Congress against six opponents. U.S. Senator
Barack Obama
(D-Illinois) had endorsed Carson before his primary victory.
Committees and subcommittees
[
edit
]
Electoral history
[
edit
]
*Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 1996, write-ins received seven votes. In 1998, Wayne J. Wohlfert received 18 votes.
*Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2002, James (Jim) Kell Jeffries received 64 votes.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
U.S. Congresswoman Julia Carson
, U.S. House bio
- ^
Schneider, Rob (December 16, 2007).
"Carson remembered: Congresswoman gave voice to disadvantaged"
.
Indianapolis Star
. Archived from
the original
on December 19, 2007
. Retrieved
December 16,
2007
.
- ^
"Offices"
. March 3, 2015.
- ^
a
b
"Julia Carson | Encyclopedia.com"
.
www.encyclopedia.com
.
- ^
U.S. Congresswoman Julia Carson
, U.S. House website
- ^
"Offices"
. March 3, 2015.
- ^
"History of the IBLC"
.
Indiana House Democratic Caucus
.
- ^
a
b
"Congresswoman has terminal cancer"
. CNN. November 25, 2007.
- ^
"Julia Carson," Contemporary Black Biography, Volume 23 (Detroit, MI: Gale Research Inc., 1999) as cited in U.S. House bio
- ^
"Indiana General Election November 7, 2007"
.
Secretary of State of Indiana
. November 6, 2007.
- ^
"Final Vote Results for Roll Call 7"
.
Office of the Clerk
. January 6, 2005.
- ^
"Honoring the life and accomplishments of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. and extending the condolences of the House of Representatives to his family on the occasion of his death. (Introduced in House)"
. Archived from
the original
on October 19, 2015
. Retrieved
July 26,
2009
.
- ^
Maureen Groppe (September 29, 2007).
"Carson hospitalized with leg infection"
.
The Indianapolis Star
.
- ^
Schneider, Mary Beth.
Congresswoman Julia Carson dies
,
Indianapolis Star
, December 15, 2007. Accessed 2007-12-15.
[
dead link
]
- ^
"WTHR - Indianapolis News and Weather -City paying respects to Julia Carson"
. Archived from
the original
on September 20, 2008
. Retrieved
December 22,
2007
.
- ^
"Julia Carson Obituary - Indianapolis, IN | The Indianapolis Star"
.
Legacy.com
.
- ^
"IDOA: Julia May Porter Carson"
.
www.in.gov
. November 19, 2020.
- ^
"Bio"
(PDF)
. www.in.gov. 2015
. Retrieved
December 19,
2019
.
- ^
Tuohy, John.
"Transit center named for Julia Carson"
.
Indianapolis Star
.
- ^
"Julia Carson Papers, 1978-2007 | University Library"
.
www.ulib.iupui.edu
. Archived from
the original
on April 25, 2019
. Retrieved
April 25,
2019
.
- ^
Executive Order 08-01
Archived
February 16, 2008, at the
Wayback Machine
Mitch Daniels. January 7, 2008.
- ^
a
b
"Election Statistics"
. Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Archived from
the original
on July 25, 2007
. Retrieved
January 10,
2008
.
External links
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edit
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