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→U.S. House of Representatives
==U.S. House of Representatives==
==U.S. House of Representatives==
Following the death of Republican representative Martin B. Madden, De Priest ran for the House seat in Illinois' 1st congressional district with the backing of William Hale Thompson, the city's mayor.<ref name=fascinatingpolitics>FascinatingPolitics (February 27, 2019). [https://fascinatingpolitics.com/2019/02/27/oscar-stanton-de-priest-the-first-black-congressman-of-the-20th-century/ Oscar Stanton De Priest: The First Black Congressman of the 20th Century]. ''Mad Politics: The Bizarre, Fascinating, and Unknown of American Political History''. Retrieved July 24, 2021.</ref> In a contest with four opponents in the 1928 election, he won by seven percentage points,<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=262563 IL District 1 Race - Nov 06, 1928]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved July 24, 2021.</ref> and would be re-elected twice.<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=187521 IL District 1 Race - Nov 04, 1930]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved July 24, 2021.</ref><ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=262643 IL District 1 Race - Nov 08, 1932]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved July 24, 2021.</ref>
Following the death of Republican representative Martin B. Madden, De Priest ran for the House seat in Illinois' 1st congressional district with the backing of William Hale Thompson, the city's mayor.<ref name=fascinatingpolitics>FascinatingPolitics (February 27, 2019). [https://fascinatingpolitics.com/2019/02/27/oscar-stanton-de-priest-the-first-black-congressman-of-the-20th-century/ Oscar Stanton De Priest: The First Black Congressman of the 20th Century]. ''Mad Politics: The Bizarre, Fascinating, and Unknown of American Political History''. Retrieved July 24, 2021.</ref> In a contest with four opponents in the 1928 election, he won by seven percentage points,<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=262563 IL District 1 Race - Nov 06, 1928]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved July 24, 2021.</ref> and would be re-elected twice.<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=187521 IL District 1 Race - Nov 04, 1930]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved July 24, 2021.</ref><ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=262643 IL District 1 Race - Nov 08, 1932]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved July 24, 2021.</ref>
Soon following his election to the House of Representatives, De Priest's wife, the former Jessie Williams, was invited by [[First Lady]] Lou Hoover for tea along with other congressional wives who were tolerant on racial issues.<ref name=fascinatingpolitics/> Southern [[segregation]]ists were in a furious uproar, to which the newly elected De Priest responded:
{{cquote|I want to thank the Democrats of the South for one thing. They were so barbaric they drove my parents to the North. If it had not been for that I wouldn’t be in Congress today. I’ve been Jim Crowed, segregated, persecuted, and I think I know how best the Negro can put a stop to being imposed upon. It is through the ballot, through organization, through eternally fighting for his rights.}}
==References==
==References==