Adam Clayton Powell Jr .

Welcome, I am your host, Tara Jabbari. Who was she? Podcast will focus on the stories of women throughout history that were active in the Baha’i Faith. This season is about Hazel Scott, a talented musician and activist. 

By the 1940s, Hazel Scott was touring the country, known for her unique style of piano and singing, combining classical music with jazz. Her short film career was now cursed by Columbia Picture’s head Harry Cohn. 

“I have always been a very strong feminine creature,” Hazel said, “and to subdue me a very, very strong masculine creature is required.” Enter Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. 

He was born on Nov 29th, 1908. When his family moved from Connecticut to Harlem, he had his first brush with racism. The Powell family were mostly light-skinned of African, European and Native American ancestry. His lighter complexion did often lead to bullying, with one block of black children and another block of Italian and Irish children demanding to know if he was white or black. In order to survive, Adam became what people needed him to be, black in black crowds and white in white crowds. This chameleon-like adjustment was the beginning of his natural charisma that would make him a successful politician. 

In 1937, having graduated with a master's in religious education from Columbia University's Teachers College, his Reverend father had a congregation of ten thousand members which was turned over to Adam. He also received an honorary doctorate of divinity from Shaw University. He spoke against interracial prejudice, quote, “We’ve got to streamline our race and come to realize that mass action is the most powerful force on earth,” end quote. 

His talks and popularity were growing across Harlem. Hazel said, “The first time I heard Adam Clayton Powell Jr. exhort a crowd I tingled from head to toe and realized that I was in the presence of greatness.”

But Adam was married to Isabel Washington, a former Broadway actress and Hazel was seeing another man. Despite their relationship statuses, they could not keep away from each other, meeting at Cafe Society, having dinner or lunch, “We laughed a great deal and we never touched each other…It was almost as if we knew what would happen when we finally did,” Hazel said.

By the end of 1941, Adam won a seat in the New York City Council, becoming the first black man to serve on that body. He made it clear that he wanted Hazel to be a part of his future, he stated, “I’m going to marry that girl - but first I’m going to Congress. No one is ever going to call me Mr. Hazel Scott!” 

He campaigned nonstop and by June 1944, the polls showed that 92 percent of Democrats supported Powell Jr along with 74% of Republicans and 83% of the American Labor Party. 

On January third, 1945, Adam Clayton Powell Jr was sworn in as a member of the seventy-ninth congress. He was referred to being the first Negro Congressman in the United States from the East. 

His agenda included a quote, “push for fair racial practices, fight to do away with restrictive covenants and discrimination in housing, fight for the passage of a national Fair Employment Practices Commission and for the abolition of the poll tax, fight to make lynching a federal crime, do away with segregated transportation,” and to provide a firm base to the Thirteenth Amendment which abolished slavery, the Fourteenth Amendment gave citizenship to all people born in the US, and the Fifteenth Amendment which gave Black Americans the right to vote.

On August first, 1945, Hazel Scott married the Reverard and now Congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr. in Connecticut. Alma stood next to her daughter while Powell Sr. stood next to his son. The wedding was simple but the reception, hosted at Cafe Society was anything but. Three thousand guests showed up, twenty-five officers were handling the crowd lined up outside the club and the guest list was a who's who in New York socialites, politicians, and artists. “They were stars, not only in the black world but the white world,” commented journalist Mike Wallace. 

For their honeymoon, the press reported the couple went to the luxurious Waldorf Astoria. But this was not the original plan. They were supposed to stay at the summer home of the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Vermont. However, the night before the wedding, Adam received a call from him. It turned out the Judge’s neighbors would not allow blacks to live in the houses. “Come ahead and I will support you,” explained the Judge, “ but they have the power to turn off the water…and to cut off other services.” Adam said this was no way to begin their life together. So Hazel and Adam spent the night at the Waldorf and the next day, they went to Long Island’s south shore. 

The new couple found themselves in sync politically, proud of each other’s stances in their respective professions. Financially, Hazel made more money as a performer and it took some time for Adam’s church members to warm up to Hazel. She was patient and cordial, giving them space as they adjusted to the new Mrs. 

Hazel was finding it a challenge to balance performing in night clubs and being a minister’s wife. The couple came to an agreement: Hazel would only perform on concert stages. She gave up her stable gig at Cafe Society which was frightening. But she insisted that this allowed her to expand her reach in music and begin in the pop genre. 

Adam came up with the idea that Hazel should start her concert tour at Constitution Hall, one of Washington, DC’s famous stages. However, the Hall was controlled by the Daughters of the American Revolution which did not allow negros to perform at Constitution Hall. Adam protested, telegraming President Truman the following: “REQUEST IMMEDIATE ACTION ON YOUR PART IN THE SITUATION OF MY WIFE HAZEL SCOTT CONCERT PIANIST BEING BARRED FROM CONSTITUTION HALL BECAUSE SHE IS A NEGRO.” 

President Truman responded immediately, “One of the marks of a democracy is its willingness to respect and reward talent without regard to race or origin.” However, he could not interfere, in quote, “the management or policy of a private enterprise such as the one in question.” 

The DAR maintained the “white artists”' rule they had adopted. To make matters more complicated, First Lady Elizabeth Truman was accepting an invitation to the DAR as an honorary, “daughter.” During the Colombus Day parade in New York, Adam told the media, “From now on, Mrs. Truman is the last lady.” 

The First Lady replied, “In my opinion, my acceptance of the hospitality is not related to the merits of the issue which has arisen. Personally, I regret that a conflict has arisen for which I am in no wise responsible. I deplore any action which denies artistic talent an opportunity to express itself because of prejudice against race origin.” Mrs. Truman still accepted the DAR’s invitation. While Adam was angered, Hazel was not surprised. She considered Washington as segregated as the deep south. She found DC was the height of hypocrisy when Adam was part of congress but officially not allowed to dine with the white Congressman. The whole ordeal left everyone including Congress divided. 

Meanwhile, Hazel’s album, A Piano Recital placed her among one of the most popular solo artists that year selling over seventy-five thousand copies. She moved on by performing at Carnegie Hall in New York. The press and fans immediately could tell the difference in her appearance, dressing more conservatively now that she was a congressman’s wife. During such a hectic time, on December 14th, 1945, Alma Scott died at the age of forty-six. Hazel would always say that Alma, was quote, “the biggest single influence in her life.”

The Clayton-Scott household created a holiday card that year, featuring the couple smiling, wrapped in each others arms. In her handwriting, Hazel wrote, “That the unity which won this war may win the peace; that this peace shall be one of good will between all men of all races, nations and faiths - This is our heartfelt wish.”

In the next episode, we will learn about the continuous racism and prejudice Hazel and Adam encountered in their work, which led to their involvement in McCarthy’s Red Scare.  

You can also find more information on our Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest @whowasshe podcast. And please, rate and subscribe wherever you listen to this podcast. Who was she was produced, written and edited by me, Tara Jabbari. Script editor is Angela Musacchio. Original music was composed and performed by Sam Redd. Resource material includes two biographies on Hazel, one 

Written by Karen Chilton, published by The University of Michigan Press and written by Susan Engle published by The Baha'i Publishing Trust, U.S.