Frederick Madison Roberts

Frederick Madison Roberts (September 14, 1879 – July 19, 1952) was an American newspaper owner and editor, educator and business owner; he became a politician, the first known man of African-American descent elected to the California State Assembly. He served there for 16 years and became known as "dean of the assembly." He has been honored as the first person of African-American descent to be elected to public office among the states on the West Coast.

Roberts was a great-grandson of Sally Hemings of Monticello and President Thomas Jefferson.

Early life and education Frederick Madison Roberts was born on September 14, 1879 in Chillicothe, Ohio to Ellen Wayles Hemings and Andrew Jackson Roberts. Ellen Wayles Hemings was the daughter of Madison Hemings, who was the son of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. Andrew was a graduate of Oberlin College and hailed from Chillicothe.

In 1865, the family moved to Los Angeles, where Andrew established A.J. Roberts and Son, the first black-owned mortuary in the city. The Roberts had a second son, William Giles Roberts. The family quickly became prosperous within the Los Angeles African American Community.

Roberts attended Los Angeles High School and was the first person of African-American descent to graduate from there. He attended the University of Southern California (USC), majoring in pre-law, and graduated from Colorado College. While in Colorado, he served as deputy assessor for El Paso County. Additionally, Roberts finished the Barnes-Worsham school of embalming and mortuary science.

In 1912, Roberts returned to Los Angeles, where he founded The New Age Dispatch newspaper (later called New Age), which he edited until 1948. When he partnered with his father in the mortuary business, they named it A.J. Roberts & Son. Eventually he took it over.

Political career

In 1918, Roberts was elected to the California State Assembly from the 62nd District as a Republican in a hard-fought campaign, during which his chief rival made racial slurs against him. They had two daughters, Gloria (1924-2011) and Patricia. Gloria was a concert pianist who performed across the United States and Europe. Patricia was a Los Angeles businesswoman. February 2006, Mervyn M. Dymally of the California State Legislature featured the biography of Frederick M. Roberts on his website to honor early political leaders as part of Black History Month.