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{{Infobox officeholder

{{Infobox officeholder

| name=Joseph Albert "Joe" Delpit

| name=Joseph Albert "Joe" Delpit, Sr.

| birth_date=January 9, 1940​

| birth_date=January 9, 1940​

| birth_place=[[Baton Rouge]], [[Louisiana]]​

| birth_place=[[Baton Rouge]], [[Louisiana]]​

| office=Member of the [[East Baton Rouge Parish]] Council ​

| office=Member of the <br>[[Baton Rouge|East Baton Rouge Parish]] Council ​

| term_start=1968​

| term_start=1968​

| term_end=1976​

| term_end=1976​

| term_end2=1992​

| term_end2=1992​

| preceded2=​

| preceded2=​

| succeeded2=John Michael Guidry

| succeeded2=[[John Michael Guidry]]

| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]​

| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]​

| religion=[[Roman Catholic]]​

| religion=[[Roman Catholic]]​

| alma_mater=McKinley High School (Baton Rouge)<br>

| alma_mater=McKinley High School<br> (Baton Rouge)<br>

[outhern University (Baton Rouge)

Southern University (Baton Rouge)

| occupation=[[Business]]man<br>(woner of The Chicken Shack)

| occupation=[[Business]]man<br>(owner of The Chicken Shack)

|spouse=Precious Robinson Delpt

|spouse=Precious Robinson Delpt

|children=​<br>

|children=​Joseph Jr., Thomas, Deidre, Desiree, and Derrick<br>

'''Parents''':<br>

'''Parents''':<br>

Thomas H. and Edmae Butler Delpit}}

Thomas H. and Edmae Butler Delpit}}

Since 1959, Delpit has owned and operated The Chicken Shack [[restaurant]], a company begun in 1935 by his father, Thomas H. Delpit, with virtually no capital.  He is also the president of D & W Health Services, Inc., which operates the nursing home known as The Oaks of Mid City. He is the secretary-treasurer of W. T.B., Inc., a [[corporation]] that operates a nursing home in [[Shreveport]], known as the Booker T. Washington Nursing Center.  

Delpit and his wife, the former Precious Robinson, have five children: Joseph Jr., Thomas, Deidre, Desiree, and Derrick. He also has eleven grandchildren.  Delpit attended St. Francis Xavier Catholic Elementary School and graduated from McKinley Senior High School in Baton Rouge. He attended historically black Southern University in Baton Rouge, at which he received credits in business administration and nutrition<ref name=bio>{{cite web|url=http://www.gojagsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=205306393 |title=Joe Delpit Tabbed as Keynote Speaker for Hall of Fame Ceremony at Southern University|publisher=Gojagsports.com|date=April 17, 2009|accessdate=November 12, 2019}}</ref>

Since 1959, Delpit has owned and operated The Chicken Shack [[restaurant]], a company begun in 1935 by his father, Thomas H. Delpin with less than a dollar of capital.  He is also the president of D & W Health Services, Inc., which operates the nursing home known as The Oaks of Mid City. He is the secretary-treasurer of W. T.B., Inc., a [[corporation]] that operates a nursing home in [[Shreveport]], known as the Booker T. Washington Nursing Center.  

Delpit and his wife, the former Precious Robinson, have five children: Joseph Jr., Thomas, Deidre, Desiree, and Derrick. He also has eleven grandchildren.  Delpit attended St. Francis Xavier Catholic Elementary School and graduated from McKinley Senior High School in Baton Rouge. He attended historically black Southern University in Baton Rouge, at which he received credits in business administration and nutrition<ref name=bio>{{cite web|url=http://www.gojagsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=205306393 |title=Joe Delpit Tabbed as Keynote Speaker for Hall of Fame Ceremony at Southern University|publisher=Gojagsports.com|date=April 17, 2009|accessdate=September 23, 2019}}</ref>

Delpit has served on the finance board for St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church and is a board member of the Baranco-Clark [[YMCA]]. A [[civil rights]] activist, he is a former president of the Baton Rouge chapter of the [[NAACP]], and served on the City-Parish Bi-Racial Committee, and the Legislative Black Caucus. He is a former board member of the Capitol Regional Planning Commission and the Greater Baton Rouge Port Commission. A charter member of the McKinley High School Alumni Association, Inc., he acted as the project management chairman for the restoration of the old McKinley building.<ref name=bio/>  

Delpit has served on the finance board for St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church and is a board member of the Baranco-Clark [[YMCA]]. A [[civil rights]] activist, he is a former president of the Baton Rouge chapter of the [[NAACP]], and served on the City-Parish Bi-Racial Committee, and the Legislative Black Caucus. He is a former board member of the Capitol Regional Planning Commission and the Greater Baton Rouge Port Commission. A charter member of the McKinley High School Alumni Association, Inc., he acted as the project management chairman for the restoration of the old McKinley building.<ref name=bio/>  

Delpit was  elected to the state House in the first-ever nonpartisan blanket primary on November 1, 1975.  He served on these committees: Municipal and Parochial Affairs, Agriculture, and Appropriations. In 1983, he won his third term as state representative without opposition. On March 12, 1984, he was elected Speaker Pro Tempore and became the highest-ranking African-American elected official in Louisiana since [[Reconstruction]]. In 1987, Delpit won reelection by 182 votes to secure his fourth term and final term. In a runoff with fellow Democrat Darrell Wayne Glasper (born 1953), Delpit prevailed 3,318 (51 percent) to 3,136 (49 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 24, 1987.</ref>

Delpit was  elected to the state House in the first-ever nonpartisan blanket primary on November 1, 1975.  He served on these committees: Municipal and Parochial Affairs, Agriculture, and Appropriations. In 1983, he won his third term as state representative without opposition. On March 12, 1984, he was elected Speaker Pro Tempore and became the highest-ranking African-American elected official in Louisiana since [[Reconstruction]]. In 1987, Delpit won reelection by 182 votes to secure his fourth term and final term. In a runoff with fellow Democrat Darrell Wayne Glasper (born 1953), Delpit prevailed 3,318 (51 percent) to 3,136 (49 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 24, 1987.</ref>

He works with his children and grandchildren in the continued family operation of The Chicken Shack.

Delpit works with his children and grandchildren in the continued family operation of The Chicken Shack. His eldest child, Joe Delpit, Jr., of Baker, Louisiana, died at the age of sixty-one on November 6, 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://obits.theadvocate.com/obituaries/theadvocate/obituary.aspx?n=joseph-albert-delpit&pid=194410627&fhid=11073|title=Joseph Albert Delpit, Jr. (1958-2019)|publisher=''The Baton Rouge Advocate''|date=November 11, 2019|accessdate=November 12, 2019}}</ref>

 

In 2023, the [[Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame]] in Winnfield announced the pending induction of Delpit into its ranks.

==References==

==References==

[[Category:Politicians]]

[[Category:Politicians]]

[[Category:Democrats]]

[[Category:Democrats]]