Revels Cayton: Difference between revisions
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{{short description|Union leader and civil rights activist}} |
{{short description|Union leader and civil rights activist (1907–1995)}} |
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{{Infobox person |
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| caption = Cayton as a baby, {{circa|1904}} |
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| birth_date = 1907 |
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| death_date = November 4, 1995 (87 or 88 years old) |
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| death_place = [[San Fransisco, California]] |
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| alma_mater = [[University of Washington]] (dropout) |
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| occupation = Union leader and civil rights activist |
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| party = [[Communist Party USA]] |
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| relatives = [[Susie Revels Cayton]] (mother), [[Horace Cayton, Sr.]] (father),{{br}}[[Hiram R. Revels]] (grandfather) |
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}} |
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== Early life == |
== Early life == |
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Born in 1907 to [[Susie Revels Cayton]] and [[Horace R. Cayton Sr.|Horace Cayton, Sr.]], |
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|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 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. ed., Louisiana pbk. ed |location=Baton Rouge}}</ref> |
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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|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. |
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== Career and activism == |
== Career and activism == |
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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" /> |
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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=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=archives.nypl.org -- National Negro Congress records|website=archives.nypl.org|access-date=2019-03-01}}</ref> |
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Cayton returned to San Francisco in the 1950s.<ref name=":4" /> |
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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" /> |
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Cayton died on Saturday, November 4, 1995, in San Francisco, California.<ref name=":0" /> |
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== References == |
== References == |
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Revision as of 23:49, 23 January 2024
Revels Cayton | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1907 |
| Died | November 4, 1995 (87 or 88 years old) |
| Alma mater | University of Washington (dropout) |
| Occupation(s) | Union leader and civil rights activist |
| Political party | Communist Party USA |
| Relatives | Susie 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
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
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
- ^ a b "Who's Who in Communist Party". depts.washington.edu. Retrieved 2019-03-01.
- ^ a b c d "Revels Cayton (1907-1995) • BlackPast". BlackPast. 2007-02-12. Retrieved 2019-03-01.
- ^ Foner, Eric (1996). Freedom's lawmakers: a directory of Black officeholders during Reconstruction (Rev. ed., Louisiana pbk. ed ed.). Baton Rouge: Louisiana State Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0-8071-2082-8.
{{cite book}}:|edition=has extra text (help) - ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d "OBITUARY -- Revels Cayton". San Francisco Chronicle. November 6, 1995. Retrieved 2019-03-01.
- ^ a b c "Revels Cayton: African American Communist and Labor Activist - Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project". depts.washington.edu. Retrieved 2019-03-01.
- ^ "archives.nypl.org -- National Negro Congress records". archives.nypl.org. Retrieved 2019-03-01.