Thomas a sykes biography children

by Kathy B. Lauder.

The story of Thomas A. Sykes is a microcosm of African American life in the 19^th century: he rose from slavery to political power in a few short years, only to disappear from view as Southern legislatures once again stripped black citizens of their freedoms.

Former North Carolina legislator, U.

S. revenue official, businessman, and school superintendent Thomas Sykes represented Davidson County in the Forty-Second Tennessee General Assembly, ¹ A former slave, Sykes had paid a white child six cents to teach him to read.

Thomas a sykes biography wikipedia The story of Thomas A. Sykes is a microcosm of African American life in the 19 th century: he rose from slavery to political power in a few short years, only to disappear from view as Southern legislatures once again stripped black citizens of their freedoms. Former North Carolina legislator, U. After emancipation he was elected to represent Pasquotank County in the state legislature and served on the state Republican executive committee. The following year Sykes became assistant assessor for the Internal Revenue Service, 3 and by he was a county magistrate.

After emancipation he was elected to represent Pasquotank County in the state legislature () and served on the state Republican executive committee.² He came to Nashville in as a gauger, a customs official who inspects, weighs, and taxes shipping containers. The following year Sykes became assistant assessor for the Internal Revenue Service,³ and by he was a county magistrate.⁴          

Thomas Sykes’s skills as a public speaker, which had brought him national recognition,⁵ quickly led him to prominence in Nashville politics.

Sykes and James Carroll Napier, “Nashville’s two most important black politicians,”⁶ worked with others to bring down Mayor Thomas A. Kercheval’s political machine (). Their efforts opened up many city jobs to black workers⁷ and facilitated the appointment of black teachers.⁸

Sykes was a Republican candidate for state representative in ⁹ One of four African Americans elected to the General Assembly that term, he introduced five important bills.

Thomas a sykes biography youtube SYKES - ca. Thomas A. Sykes represented Nashville in the 42nd Tennessee General Assembly , but few Middle Tennesseans would recognize his name today. His story echoes the experiences of many successful African Americans during the 19th century — he climbed from obscurity to political prominence in a few short years, only to disappear from public view as Southern legislatures slammed shut the window of opportunity for black citizens, stripping them of voting rights and other liberties for many decades. In an article in the Daily American reprinted from the Washington Republican , Sykes reflected on his early years:.

His attempt to repeal Chapter of the Acts of was the earliest attempt to overturn this early Jim Crow law permitting discrimination in public facilities.¹⁰ The bill failed, even after all four black legislators protested Chapter as “a palpable violation of the spirit, genius and letter of our system of free government.”¹¹ Sykes’s bill recommending a penitentiary in West Tennessee was made unrecognizable by amendments.

When the bill passed , Sykes, who had actually voted against it himself, pleaded unsuccessfully for its reconsideration.¹² His bill to admit black students to Nashville’s School for the Blind and Knoxville’s School for the Deaf and Dumb, and to house them in separate facilities, passed , although the Civil Rights Act of , still in force,¹³ made such segregation illegal.

Two other bills, banning discrimination in jury selection and opening the University of Tennessee to black students, were tabled in committee.¹⁴

Sykes served on the State Temperance Executive Committee and made many speeches on their behalf. An newspaper article described him as “one of the most highly educated and refined colored men we know.”¹⁵ In he became Assistant Superintendent, Colored Department, of Nashville’s new Tennessee Industrial School.  The school, conceived by Judge John C.

Ferris after an cholera epidemic that orphaned many children, was financed by railroad tycoon Edmund W. “King” Cole.¹⁶ 

Sykes’s career after clearly illustrates the effects of Jim Crow on Southern blacks. After the Forty-Sixth General Assembly passed four disfranchising laws that effectively silenced black political voices in Tennessee, a political pundit snickered in the Nashville Daily American that former Representative Thomas A.

Sykes had been demoted to elevator operator in the very Customs House where he had once held a privileged federal position.¹⁷  Sykes apparently left Nashville after a highly-publicized divorce from his schoolteacher wife, Viola Hoyt.¹⁸  His name does not appear in Nashville city directories after ()

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SOURCES:

¹ McBride, Robert M., and Dan M.

Robinson. Biographical Directory, Tennessee GeneralAssembly, Volume II ().

Thomas a sykes biography They had 2 sons. Here is a lineage for the Cates family that attempts to clarify the names, birthdates and relationships. This needs records to prove, but is submitted as a guide for research. Login to see how you relate to 33 million family members. Thomas Skyes Cates abt.

Nashville: Tennessee State Library and Archives, and Tennessee Historical Commission,

² “Sykes, of Nashville: Relating His North Carolina Experience to a Washington Stalwart.” Nashville Daily American, January 25, (Reprinted from the WashingtonRepublican, date unknown.)

³Nashville, Tennessee, City Directory, Directories, [database on-line], Provo, UT, USA: Operations, Inc.

⁴Nashville, Tennessee, City Directory, Directories, [database on-line], Provo, UT, USA: Operations, Inc.

⁵ “Sykes, of Nashville.” Nashville Daily American, January 25,

⁶ Rabinowitz, Howard N. Race Relations in the Urban South, , 2nd ed. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press,

⁷ Cartwright, Joseph H.

The Triumph of Jim Crow: Tennessee Race Relations in the s. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, ,

⁸ Rabinowitz, note 37, p.

⁹ Cartwright,

¹⁰ “Jim Crow and Disfranchisement of Southern Blacks,” This Honorable Body: AfricanAmerican Legislators in 19^th Century Tennessee.

Exhibits, Tennessee State Library and Archives. 

¹¹ Tennessee General Assembly. Journal of the House of Representatives of the State ofTennessee. Nashville: Tavel & Howe,

¹²House Journal,

¹³ Lovett, Bobby L. The African-American History of Nashville, Tennessee, Elitesand Dilemmas.

Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press,

¹⁴House Journal,

¹⁵ “Sykes, of Nashville.

Thomas a sykes biography book

Thomas A. Sykes born c. An African-American , he was born into slavery. After the Civil War , he served as a Republican member of the North Carolina House of Representatives for four one-year terms — and as a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives for one two-year term — He also served as a revenue collector and gauger.

A Fellow Legislator’s Handsome Compliment.” Nashville DailyAmerican, July 17, (Reprinted from Franklin Review and Journal, date unknown)

¹⁶ Tyree, Forrest H. A Centennial History of the Tennessee Preparatory School. Nashville,

¹⁷Nashville American, June 8 and 13,

¹⁸ Sykes v.

Sykes, Davidson County Circuit Court, Minute Book 24, , page

SUGGESTED READING:

 “This Honorable Body: African American Legislators in 19^th Century Tennessee.” Exhibits, Tennessee State Library and Archives.