A Trip to Springfield and Some Family History

H. R. 223 and the legacy of John W.E. Thomas

Dr. Joens biography and a copy of H. R. 223. Author's photo.

On April 28th, I accompanied my wife Christie on a special visit to the State Capitol in Springfield to witness the passage of House Resolution 223, to honor the life of her great-grandfather John W.E. Thomas, who was the first African-American elected to the Illinois State Legislature in 1876.  A former slave, he became a successful lawyer, and legislator who achieved passage of the first Civil Rights bill in Illinois.

To describe Christie and I as history buffs would be an understatement, our bookshelves are stacked with volumes on just about any topic and time period, and she has a B.A. in History with Honors from Barat College.  We love history.

One of the truisms of history, is that the significance of a person or an event often doesn't become clear until much later. John W. E. Thomas was one of those people, though his considerable accomplishments were noted during his lifetime, and passed down as family history, his official legacy was largely forgotten over time and perhaps even deliberately obscured by his political rivals in later years.

Thomas might have remained a footnote in the annals of Illinois political history if not for the efforts of David A. Joens, the Director of the Illinois State Archives, who spent 14 years researching Thomas's life and career, that resulted in the biography "From Slave to State Legislator, John W.E. Thomas, Illinois First African American Lawmaker".  Here is a video of Joens lecturing about Thomas at the Abraham Lincoln Library.

In 2008, my brother in law, Gregory Thomas and his wife Sherma, learned about Dr. Joens, and that he was giving a talk about John Thomas at the National Archives in Chicago. We all went to the event, and during the Q&A session, Greg introduced himself as Thomas' descendent.  Joens was so surprised, I thought he might have a heart-attack. Afterwards, we had a backstage tour of the Archive, and later he was kind enough to send us a copy of the galley version of the book.  Ultimately, the book was published in 2012, and speaking as an avid reader of history, it is an eye-opening study of late 19th century politics, as seen through Thomas's life and career.

Bringing us forward to 2015, Greg and Christie were contacted by State Representative John D. Anthony (R-Morris), as an African American legislator he had become interested in John Thomas, and learned that he had never been honored by the House for his work.  He decided to introduce a resolution in the current session to do just that. So we made the trip to Springfield and sat in the House gallery to witness the reading of the resolution.

This was my first visit to the State Capitol, and if you have never watched the House in session, you might be surprised at the amount of noise coming from the floor as the session is being conducted.  Legislators and staff are all holding conversations as the chair reads out the resolutions and announces the vote results at the same time.  Until Representative Anthony started reading House Resolution 223, and after a few moments everyone became silent, and many stood up.  Dr. Joens later said that he'd never seen anything like it in the House before.  Here is a YouTube video of the reading of the resolution.

Afterwards, Representative Anthony came up to the Gallery to meet the family, and we had our pictures taken, of course.

L-R Gregory Thomas, Christie Thomas-Fischer, Representative Anthony, Sherma Thomas, Christopher Fischer. Photo Courtesy Rep. Anthony office

Then when the session had ended, we were taken down to the House floor, for more photos, and to look at where John Thomas sat, then Dr. Joens took us on a tour of the Capitol and the State Archives. Here are a few photos I snapped with my trusty phone.

Chatting with Rep. Mary Flowers (D-Chicago)

The restored ceiling of the House Chamber

Statue of General John Logan, who played a major role in Thomas career.

In the Senate Chamber Gallery.

Our backstage tour of the Capitol concluded in Dr. Joens office at the State Archive, where he showed us the original sleeve that held the Civil Right's bill Thomas sponsored.

And the Oath he signed upon taking office.

 

I don't think there is a greater privilege than to have the opportunity to talk with someone who is so passionate about his subject as David Joens, it was a real joy to see.

We had a broad ranging discussion about how we might be able to get some official representation of John Thomas in the State Capitol with a statue or a portrait, or perhaps even as part of the future Obama Presidential Library. As with everything, timing is important, and now 116 years after John W.E. Thomas passed away, perhaps it's time for him to emerge from the past and be recognized for his achievements in the post-Civil War decades, often in the face of tremendous difficulties. Time will tell.

Postscript

This was my first trip to Springfield, and what a wonderful introduction.  As I have written many times over the past few years, and expressed in my campaigns for office I truly believe in the fundamental importance of our self-government in bettering our lives. Whatever the difficulties and frustrations with our politics we face in the present, we must keep in mind the challenges faced by previous generations, and how they persevered. 

I have to say that it was an honor to take part in this long-overdue recognition of a true pioneer, and that through my marriage to Christie I can claim kinship to him, and in turn she is linked to the German, Irish, and Dutch immigrants that formed my family (even all the way back to a Prime Minister of Great Britain), truly a snapshot of the American experience. A little family history.

I'll close with one final pitch for David Joens book, it's well worth the read, and you can find it on Amazon .