Oliver Randolph

Oliver Randolph (October 31, 1877 – October 2, 1951) was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he was the first African American to be admitted to the New Jersey bar, the second African American elected to the New Jersey Legislature, and the only African American to serve as a delegate to the New Jersey Constitutional Convention of 1947.

Early life and career

Randolph was born in Pass Christian, Harrison County, Mississippi in 1882 to John W. and Mary E.J. Randolph. He was the grandson of a Virginia slave. His father, John W. Randolph, served in the Mississippi Legislature in the Reconstruction Era. His brother, Joseph B. Randolph, became president of Claflin University in Orangeburg, South Carolina.

Political career

Randolph entered Republican politics in Essex County, New Jersey and was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in November 1922. He became the second African American to serve in the state legislature, after Walter G. Alexander's election to the Assembly in 1920.

In the Assembly, Randolph authored the state's anti-lynching law and introduced legislation opposing the Ku Klux Klan.

In 1923, he was appointed Special Assistant United States District Attorney for New Jersey on the recommendation of U.S. Senator Walter E. Edge.