House of Diggs: The Rise and Fall of America's Most Consequential Black Congressman, Charles C. Diggs Jr.

by Marion Orr

Overview

At the height of the civil rights movement, Charles C. Diggs Jr. (1922–1998) was the consummate power broker. In a political career spanning 1951 to 1980, Diggs, Michigan’s first Black member of Congress, was the only federal official to attend the trial of Emmett Till’s killers, worked behind the scenes with Martin Luther King Jr., and founded the Congressional Black Caucus. He was also the chief architect of legislation that restored home rule to Washington, DC, and almost single-handedly ignited the American anti-apartheid movement in the 1960s. Drawing on extensive archival research, including Diggs’s rarely seen personal papers, FBI documents, and original interviews with family members and political associates, political scientist Marion Orr reveals that Diggs practiced a politics of strategic moderation. Orr argues that this quiet approach was more effective than the militant race politics practiced by Adam Clayton Powell and more appealing than the conservative Chicago-style approach of William Dawson—two of Diggs’s better-known Black contemporaries.

Vividly written and deeply researched, House of Diggs is the first biography of Congressman Charles C. Diggs Jr., one of the most consequential Black federal legislators in US history. Congressman Diggs was a legislative lion whose unfortunate downfall punctuated his distinguished career and pushed him and his historic accomplishments out of sight. Now, for the first time, House of Diggs restores him to his much-deserved place in the history of American politics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781469689326
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	09/16/2025
Series:	Justice, Power, and Politics
Pages:	360
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Marion Orr is the Frederick Lippitt Professor of Public Policy and professor of political science and urban studies at Brown University.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“The definitive biography of the civil rights legislator we never should have forgotten. This book will change our collective understanding of Charles C. Diggs Jr., the civil rights era, and the political battles we're still fighting today.”—Van Jones, CNN host and New York Times best-selling author

“Engaging, essential, and meticulously researched. Marion Orr reveals Rep. Charles C. Diggs Jr.’s pivotal role in the civil rights movement at a time when Black politics shifted 'from protest to elections.' House of Diggs details how Congressman Diggs’s dogged persistence and a strategically moderate approach to building coalitions changed the landscape of segregated America.”—Tamara Payne, Pulitzer Prize–winning coauthor of The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X

“An unmatched and wonderfully complex exploration of Charles Diggs Jr. Marion Orr has probed, explored, and added a great deal to our understanding of many different areas of politics.”—Dianne Pinderhughes, coauthor of Contested Transformation: Race, Gender, and Political Leadership in 21st Century America

“The best full-scale assessment of Diggs’s remarkable career that I know of. House of Diggs provocatively and compellingly demonstrates Marion Orr’s claim that no other Black member of Congress can match the tangible impact of Diggs’s life and work.”—Waldo E. Martin Jr., author of No Coward Soldiers: Black Cultural Politics in Postwar America

“An impressive and important book about an overlooked figure in the fight for civil rights. Marion Orr tells the story of Charles C. Diggs Jr. with deep insight, diligent research, and crisp writing.”—Jonathan Eig, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of King: A Life.

“Marion Orr brings us deep into Congressman Charles Diggs’s world, brilliantly capturing the fullness and complexity of a legendary political icon who fought segregationists at home and abroad in the pursuit of a more equal and just world. Diggs—gifted, brave, and yet deeply flawed—was far more than a consequential civil rights activist and legislator during the tumultuous 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s. He was also a self-promoter who spent lavishly and irresponsibly, costing him his reputation and legacy. This page-turning biography is riveting and timely!”—Kate Clifford Larson, author of Walk With Me: A Biography of Fannie Lou Hamer

“This wonderfully readable biography rewrites the history of Black urban politics and civil rights through one of its most compelling and flawed characters.”—Thomas J. Sugrue, author of Sweet Land of Liberty: The Forgotten Struggle for Civil Rights in the North

“A skillfully rendered, scrupulously researched, and highly readable portrait of an important civil rights leader, long overdue for recognition.”—James McGrath Morris, author of the New York Times bestseller Eye on the Struggle: Ethel Payne, the First Lady of the Black Press

Editorial Reviews

“The definitive biography of the civil rights legislator we never should have forgotten. This book will change our collective understanding of Charles C. Diggs Jr., the civil rights era, and the political battles we're still fighting today.”—Van Jones, CNN host and New York Times best-selling author

“Engaging, essential, and meticulously researched. Marion Orr reveals Rep. Charles C. Diggs Jr.’s pivotal role in the civil rights movement at a time when Black politics shifted 'from protest to elections.' House of Diggs details how Congressman Diggs’s dogged persistence and a strategically moderate approach to building coalitions changed the landscape of segregated America.”—Tamara Payne, Pulitzer Prize–winning coauthor of The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X

“An unmatched and wonderfully complex exploration of Charles Diggs Jr. Marion Orr has probed, explored, and added a great deal to our understanding of many different areas of politics.”—Dianne Pinderhughes, coauthor of Contested Transformation: Race, Gender, and Political Leadership in 21st Century America

“The best full-scale assessment of Diggs’s remarkable career that I know of. House of Diggs provocatively and compellingly demonstrates Marion Orr’s claim that no other Black member of Congress can match the tangible impact of Diggs’s life and work.”—Waldo E. Martin Jr., author of No Coward Soldiers: Black Cultural Politics in Postwar America

“An impressive and important book about an overlooked figure in the fight for civil rights. Marion Orr tells the story of Charles C. Diggs Jr. with deep insight, diligent research, and crisp writing.”—Jonathan Eig, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of King: A Life.

“Marion Orr brings us deep into Congressman Charles Diggs’s world, brilliantly capturing the fullness and complexity of a legendary political icon who fought segregationists at home and abroad in the pursuit of a more equal and just world. Diggs—gifted, brave, and yet deeply flawed—was far more than a consequential civil rights activist and legislator during the tumultuous 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s. He was also a self-promoter who spent lavishly and irresponsibly, costing him his reputation and legacy. This page-turning biography is riveting and timely!”—Kate Clifford Larson, author of Walk With Me: A Biography of Fannie Lou Hamer

“This wonderfully readable biography rewrites the history of Black urban politics and civil rights through one of its most compelling and flawed characters.”—Thomas J. Sugrue, author of Sweet Land of Liberty: The Forgotten Struggle for Civil Rights in the North

“A skillfully rendered, scrupulously researched, and highly readable portrait of an important civil rights leader, long overdue for recognition.”—James McGrath Morris, author of the New York Times bestseller Eye on the Struggle: Ethel Payne, the First Lady of the Black Press

From the Publisher