Adam Clayton Powell

Type: Person

As of November 2026, Adam Clayton Powell has been mentioned in one podcast episode on This American Life (Feb 2026). This American Life recommended it: Adam Clayton Powell is one of the intellectuals Jack Guyger met at Canada Lee's apartment.

Adam Clayton Powell Jr. was an American Baptist pastor and politician who represented the Harlem neighborhood of New York City in the United States House of Representatives from 1945 until 1971. He was the first African American to be elected to Congress from New York, as well as the first from any state in the Northeast. Re-elected for nearly three decades, Powell became a powerful national politician of the Democratic Party, and served as a national spokesman on civil rights and social issues.