King of the Cats: The Life and Times of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. by Wil HaygoodMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Was Clayton an opportunistic spectator, or progressive instigator to social change? It seems to me from this detailed, encompassing biography a blend of the two from the flashy Harlem politician who coined the phrase "Black Power" at his 1966, May Howard Univ. speech. Chameleon-like, he stumped for Eisenhower and allied with LBJ; anything to advance his profile and advance integration for African-Americans. Clayton's career with the two major parties covered a transformative, post-Reconstruction era when the GOP traded Teddy Roosevelt-era progressivism to buck change and the Democrats fractions into the recalcitrant Southern Dixiecrats and a radicalizable norther arm of the party. Along the way, Clayton chased skirts and photo ops in Europe, Africa, Puerto Rico (where he hoped statehood would advance him from the House of Representatives to the Senate), and Bimini where he hunkered down battling ethics violations instead of representing his constituents. I do admire his pluck in taking on both The Mob and corrupt police in battling numbers rackets and other corruption in his district.
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