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{{short description|Union leader and civil rights activist}}
{{short description|Union leader and civil rights activist (1907–1995)}}
{{Infobox person
⚫
'''Revels Cayton''' (1907—1995) was an American civil rights leader active in the states of Washington and California.
| caption = Cayton as a baby, {{circa|1904}}
| birth_date = 1907
| death_date = November 4, {{Death year and age|1995|1907}}
| death_place = [[San Francisco, California]]
| alma_mater = [[University of Washington]] (dropout)
| occupation = Union leader and civil rights activist
| party = [[Communist Party USA]]
| relatives = [[Susie Revels Cayton]] (mother), [[Horace Cayton, Sr.]] (father),{{br}}[[Hiram R. Revels]] (grandfather)
}}
⚫
'''Revels Cayton''' (1907 – November 4, 1995) was an American union leader and civil rights activist active in the states of [[Washington (state)|Washington]] and [[California]].


== Early life ==
== Early life ==
Born in 1907 to [[Susie Revels Cayton]] and [[Horace R. Cayton Sr.|Horace Cayton, Sr.]], Revels Cayton was a civil rights leader in [[Seattle]] and California.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://depts.washington.edu/labhist/cpproject/whos_who.shtml|title=Who's Who in Communist Party|website=depts.washington.edu|access-date=2019-03-01}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.blackpast.org/aaw/vignette_aahw/cayton-revels-1907-1995/|title=Revels Cayton (1907-1995) • BlackPast|date=2007-02-12|website=BlackPast|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-01}}</ref> His grandfather was [[Hiram Rhodes Revels|Hiram Revels]], the first black senator in the United States.
Born in 1907 to [[Susie Revels Cayton]] and [[Horace R. Cayton Sr.|Horace Cayton, Sr.]], Cayton was a civil rights leader in [[Seattle]] and California.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |editor=Gordon Black |editor2=Daren Salter |editor3=James Gregory |url=http://depts.washington.edu/labhist/cpproject/whos_who.shtml|title=Communism in Washington State: Who's Who |website=University of Washington |access-date=2019-03-01}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |author=Ed Diaz |url=https://www.blackpast.org/aaw/vignette_aahw/cayton-revels-1907-1995/|title=Revels Cayton (1907-1995) |website=BlackPast |date=2007-02-12 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-01}}</ref> His grandfather was [[Hiram R. Revels]], the first black senator in the United States.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Foner |first=Eric |title=Freedom's lawmakers: a directory of Black officeholders during Reconstruction |date=1996 |publisher=Louisiana State Univ. Press |isbn=978-0-8071-2082-8 |edition=Rev. |location=Baton Rouge}}</ref>


Raised by prosperous leaders in the Seattle community, Cayton was forced to seek employment at age 15 as a telephone operator due to a series of unfortunate financial events.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Donahue|first=David|date=2020-01-01|title=Changemakers: Biographies of African Americans in San Francisco Who Made a Difference|url=https://repository.usfca.edu/mccarthy_stu/4|journal=McCarthy Center Student Scholarship}}</ref> He attended the [[University of Washington]], but left early due to the [[Great Depression]].<ref name=":2" /> It was during his time at the University of Washington that he first was introduced to communism.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/revels_cayton.htm|title=Revels Cayton: African American Communist and Labor Activist - Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project|website=depts.washington.edu|access-date=2019-03-01}}</ref> In the 1930s, the [[Communist Party USA|Communist Party]]'s primary concerns included workers' rights and racial tensions.<ref name=":3" /> In a letter to a friend, Cayton stated, "in the beginning I was drawn to the Party because I believed that in a socialist system there would be no racism."<ref name=":3" /> At some point in the 1930s he moved from Seattle to San Francisco.
Cayton was forced to seek employment at age 15 as a telephone operator due to a series of unfortunate financial events.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Donahue|first=David|date=2020-01-01|title=Changemakers: Biographies of African Americans in San Francisco Who Made a Difference|url=https://repository.usfca.edu/mccarthy_stu/4|journal=McCarthy Center Student Scholarship}}</ref> He attended the [[University of Washington]], but dropped out due to the [[Great Depression]].<ref name=":2" /> It was during his time at the University of Washington that he first was introduced to [[communism]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |author=Sarah Falconer |url=http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/revels_cayton.htm|title=Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project: Revels Cayton: African American Communist and Labor Activist |website=University of Washington |access-date=2019-03-01}}</ref> In the 1930s, the [[Communist Party USA|Communist Party]]'s primary concerns included workers' rights and racial tensions.<ref name=":3" /> In a letter to a friend, Cayton stated, "in the beginning I was drawn to the Party because I believed that in a socialist system there would be no racism."<ref name=":3" /> At some point in the 1930s, he moved from Seattle to San Francisco.


== Career and activism ==
== Career and activism ==
Revels Cayton was particularly active in 1934; during that year he joined the Northwest District of the Communist Party, organized the Communist Party's Seattle chapter of the [[League of Struggle for Negro Rights]], and participated in the [[1934 West Coast waterfront strike]] in San Francisco.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/OBITUARY-Revels-Cayton-3020787.php|title=OBITUARY -- Revels Cayton|date=November 6, 1995|newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|access-date=2019-03-01}}</ref> In 1940 he filed a discrimination suit against a San Francisco restaurant that refused service to him, [[Paul Robeson]], and five others.<ref name=":0" />
Cayton was particularly active in 1934; during that year he joined the Northwest District of the Communist Party, organized the Communist Party's Seattle chapter of the [[League of Struggle for Negro Rights]], and participated in the [[1934 West Coast waterfront strike]] in San Francisco.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/OBITUARY-Revels-Cayton-3020787.php|title=OBITUARY -- Revels Cayton|date=November 6, 1995|newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|access-date=2019-03-01}}</ref> In 1940, he filed a discrimination suit against a San Francisco restaurant that refused service to him, [[Paul Robeson]], and five others.<ref name=":0" />


In 1941 Catyon moved to Los Angeles where he became the director of the State Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) Minorities Commission and Vice President of the California State CIO Council.<ref name=":4" /> After this he moved to New York City where he served from 1945-1947 as the Executive Secretary of the [[National Negro Congress]] (NNC).<ref name=":4" /> Under his leadership the NNC petitioned the UN Director-General to recognize the "denial of constitutional rights to 13,000,000 U.S. Negroes."<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archives.nypl.org/scm/20648|title=archives.nypl.org -- National Negro Congress records|website=archives.nypl.org|access-date=2019-03-01}}</ref>
In 1941, Cayton moved to Los Angeles where he became the director of the State Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) Minorities Commission and Vice President of the California State CIO Council.<ref name=":4" /> After this he moved to New York City where he served from 1945 to 1947 as the Executive Secretary of the [[National Negro Congress]] (NNC).<ref name=":4" /> Under his leadership the NNC petitioned the UN Director-General to recognize the "denial of constitutional rights to 13,000,000 U.S. Negroes."<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archives.nypl.org/scm/20648|title=National Negro Congress records|website=New York Public Library |access-date=2019-03-01}}</ref>


Revels returned to San Francisco in the 1950s.<ref name=":4" />
Cayton returned to San Francisco in the 1950s.<ref name=":4" />


In 1960 he was the first manager of St. Francis Square, a housing development in San Francisco built by the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union and the Pacific Maritime Association.<ref name=":2" /> Later he became the deputy director of the San Francisco Housing Authority and deputy mayor for social programs.<ref name=":2" />
In 1960, he was the first manager of St. Francis Square, a housing development in San Francisco built by the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union and the Pacific Maritime Association.<ref name=":2" /> Later he became the deputy director of the San Francisco Housing Authority and deputy mayor for social programs.<ref name=":2" />


Revels Cayton died on Saturday, November 4, 1995, in San Francisco, California.<ref name=":0" />
Cayton died on Saturday, November 4, 1995, in San Francisco, California.<ref name=":0" />


== References ==
== References ==
{{reflist}}
<references />


== External links ==
== External links ==
[http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv44448 Richard S. Hobbs oral history interviews with Revels Cayton]
* [http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv44448 Richard S. Hobbs oral history interviews with Revels Cayton]
⚫
* [http://credo.library.umass.edu/view/full/mums312-b111-i126 Telegram from Revels Cayton and the National Nego Conference to W.E.B. Du Bois.]

* [https://digital-collections.library.sfsu.edu/Documents/Detail/revels-cayton-john-howard-lawson-paul-robeson-and-david-jenkins-california-labor-school/10737 Photo of Revels Cayton] from the San Francisco University State Archives
[http://archives.nypl.org/scm/20648 National Negro Congress records, 1933-1947]

⚫
[http://credo.library.umass.edu/view/full/mums312-b111-i126 Telegram from Revels Cayton and the National Nego Conference to W.E.B. Du Bois.]


{{DEFAULTSORT:Cayton, Revels}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cayton, Revels}}
[[Category:1907 births]]
[[Category:1907 births]]
[[Category:1995 deaths]]
[[Category:1995 deaths]]
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[[Category:African-American activists]]
[[Category:Civil rights activists]]
[[Category:University of Washington alumni]]
[[Category:University of Washington alumni]]
[[Category:African-American history of Washington (state)]]
[[Category:African-American history of Washington (state)]]
[[Category:Activists for African-American civil rights]]
[[Category:Activists for African-American civil rights]]
⚫
[[Category:American civil rights activists]]
[[Category:African-American communists]]
[[Category:African-American communists]]
[[Category:Activists from Washington (state)]]
[[Category:Activists from Washington (state)]]

Latest revision as of 01:25, 5 August 2024

Revels Cayton
Born1907
DiedNovember 4, 1995 (aged 87–88)
San Francisco, California
Alma materUniversity of Washington (dropout)
Occupation(s)Union leader and civil rights activist
Political partyCommunist Party USA
RelativesSusie Revels Cayton (mother), Horace Cayton, Sr. (father),
Hiram R. Revels (grandfather)

Revels Cayton (1907 – November 4, 1995) was an American union leader and civil rights activist active in the states of Washington and California.

Early life

[edit]

Born in 1907 to Susie Revels Cayton and Horace Cayton, Sr., Cayton was a civil rights leader in Seattle and California.[1][2] His grandfather was Hiram R. Revels, the first black senator in the United States.[3]

Cayton was forced to seek employment at age 15 as a telephone operator due to a series of unfortunate financial events.[4] He attended the University of Washington, but dropped out due to the Great Depression.[5] It was during his time at the University of Washington that he first was introduced to communism.[6] In the 1930s, the Communist Party's primary concerns included workers' rights and racial tensions.[6] In a letter to a friend, Cayton stated, "in the beginning I was drawn to the Party because I believed that in a socialist system there would be no racism."[6] At some point in the 1930s, he moved from Seattle to San Francisco.

Career and activism

[edit]

Cayton was particularly active in 1934; during that year he joined the Northwest District of the Communist Party, organized the Communist Party's Seattle chapter of the League of Struggle for Negro Rights, and participated in the 1934 West Coast waterfront strike in San Francisco.[1][5] In 1940, he filed a discrimination suit against a San Francisco restaurant that refused service to him, Paul Robeson, and five others.[2]

In 1941, Cayton moved to Los Angeles where he became the director of the State Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) Minorities Commission and Vice President of the California State CIO Council.[4] After this he moved to New York City where he served from 1945 to 1947 as the Executive Secretary of the National Negro Congress (NNC).[4] Under his leadership the NNC petitioned the UN Director-General to recognize the "denial of constitutional rights to 13,000,000 U.S. Negroes."[2][7]

Cayton returned to San Francisco in the 1950s.[4]

In 1960, he was the first manager of St. Francis Square, a housing development in San Francisco built by the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union and the Pacific Maritime Association.[5] Later he became the deputy director of the San Francisco Housing Authority and deputy mayor for social programs.[5]

Cayton died on Saturday, November 4, 1995, in San Francisco, California.[2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Gordon Black; Daren Salter; James Gregory (eds.). "Communism in Washington State: Who's Who". University of Washington. Retrieved 2019-03-01.
  2. ^ a b c d Ed Diaz (2007-02-12). "Revels Cayton (1907-1995)". BlackPast. Retrieved 2019-03-01.
  3. ^ Foner, Eric (1996). Freedom's lawmakers: a directory of Black officeholders during Reconstruction (Rev. ed.). Baton Rouge: Louisiana State Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0-8071-2082-8.
  4. ^ a b c d Donahue, David (2020-01-01). "Changemakers: Biographies of African Americans in San Francisco Who Made a Difference". McCarthy Center Student Scholarship.
  5. ^ a b c d "OBITUARY -- Revels Cayton". San Francisco Chronicle. November 6, 1995. Retrieved 2019-03-01.
  6. ^ a b c Sarah Falconer. "Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project: Revels Cayton: African American Communist and Labor Activist". University of Washington. Retrieved 2019-03-01.
  7. ^ "National Negro Congress records". New York Public Library. Retrieved 2019-03-01.
[edit]
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