Quick Facts
Biography
Adelbert H. Roberts (August 20, 1866–January 26, 1937) was an Illinois politician notable for becoming the first African American to be elected to the Illinois Senate.
Biography
Roberts was born August 20, 1866 in Decatur, Michigan. He graduated from high school at 17 and became a teacher. He then chose to take Ph.D. coursework at University of Michigan before attending Northwestern University School of Law. In 1895, he married Lula Wiley with whom he would have four children.
In 1918, Roberts was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives as a Republican. After the Chicago race riot of 1919, Governor Frank Orren Lowden's appointed Roberts to a Race Commission created in response to the incident. He was appointed to the Illinois Senate in 1924 to fill a vacancy and elected to the Senate in 1926 and 1930. During his tenure, he was a resident of the Douglas community area.
Roberts died January 26, 1937 in Chicago. He was survived by Lula and two of his sons.
In 1984, Senator Margaret Smith and Representative Howard B. Brookins Sr. successfully campaigned to have a statue of Roberts installed in the Capitol rotunda.