Today, above all days, we remember a great pioneer in the history of American race relations. The first mixed-race candidate elected to national office.
I'm sure that you, together with all Americans, will be celebrating his birthday on January 25th.
Even though he wasn't born in the United States, he achieved great success in local politics and in the US Senate before winning a Presidential election.
Representing a political party famous for its commitment to racial justice, Charles Curtis -- Republican Majority Leader of the US Senate -- was elected Vice President of the United States in 1928. Sunday will be his 149th birthday. He was born in the Kansas Territory in 1860 and his mother taught him French and Kaw as he grew up.
Charles Curtis' mother was 3/4 Native American (Kaw, Osage, and Pottawatomie) and 1/4 French. He was a registered member of the Kaw tribe.
Here he is:
Charles Curtis 1860-1936
