William Townsend (politician)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
West Point, Mississippi, US
Little Rock, Arkansas, US
William H. Townsend | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Arkansas House of Representatives | |
| In office 1973–1997 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 14, 1914 West Point, Mississippi, US |
| Died | September 15, 2005 (aged 91) Little Rock, Arkansas, US |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | Tuskegee University, Illinois College of Optometry |
| Occupation | Politician, optometrist |
William H. Townsend (July 30, 1914 – September 15, 2005) was an American politician, civil rights activist, and optometrist who was one of the first African Americans to serve in the Arkansas State Legislature since the Reconstruction era. He was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives as a Democrat representing Little Rock in 1972 and went on to serve twelve terms in office until 1997.
Townsend was born on July 30, 1914, in West Point, Mississippi, and raised in Earle, Arkansas. He earned a BS in agriculture from the Tuskegee Institute in 1941. He enlisted in the United States Army during World War II and while serving overseas studied at the University of Nottingham. He earned a Purple Heart after sustaining a shrapnel wound to his knee. During his military service, Townsend was promoted to the rank of sergeant. After returning home, he studied premed at Howard University and transferred to the Northern Illinois College of Optometry, from which he received his doctoral degree in optometry in May 1950.[1][2]
Civil rights activism
Soon after graduating, Townsend established an optometry clinic in Little Rock, Arkansas. He was the first African American licensed to practice optometry in Arkansas, passing the state's optometric state board examination in August 1950.[2]
During the 1950s, Townsend became active in the civil rights movement, becoming a founding member of the Arkansas Council on Human Relations (ACHR), formed in 1954, and the Council on Community Affairs (COCA), formed in 1961. Both organizations campaigned to desegregate public schools, facilities, and businesses, with COCA driving the desegregation of downtown Little Rock in 1963. Townsend personally participated in sit-ins at Little Rock restaurants during the early 1960s. In 1966, he became chair of the Arkansas Voter Education Project, a statewide program to register African American voters.[1][3] In 1972, he became chair of the Arkansas Council on Human Relations.[3] He was a life member of the NAACP.[2]
In 1962 and 1966, Townsend ran unsuccessfully for a seat on Little Rock's city council. In 1969, Governor Winthrop Rockefeller, a reformist Republican, nominated Townsend to serve on the state board of education, but the Arkansas Senate refused to confirm Townsend's appointment.[4]