Vito Anthony Marcantonio (December 10, 1902 – August 9, 1954) was an Italian-American lawyer and politician who served East Harlem for seven terms in the United States House of Representatives. For most of his political career, he was a member of the American Labor Party, believing that neither major American political party supported the interests of the working class. For two years prior to his party switching to Labor, he was a New Deal coalition member of the progressive branch of the Republican Party as a supporter of Fiorello LaGuardia (prior to the party's realignment as a mostly conservative party). Marcantonio was a socialist and avid supporter of the working class, poor, immigrants, labor unions, and African-American civil rights. Marcantonio represented the neighborhood of East Harlem in New York City (containing the smaller neighborhoods of Italian Harlem and Spanish Harlem), which was home to many ethnic Italians, Jews and Puerto Ricans. He spoke Spanish, Italian, and English. Early life and education Marcantonio was the son of an American-born father and Italian-born mother, both with origins in Picerno, in the Basilicata region of Southern Italy. He was born on December 10, 1902, in the impoverished Italian Harlem ghetto of East Harlem, New York City. He attended New York City public schools, becoming the only member of his class from East Harlem to graduate from De Witt Clinton High School in Hell's Kitchen, and eventually received his LL.B. from the New York University School of Law in 1925. Career In the 1920 United States presidential election, Marcantonio campaigned for Parley P. Christensen, the candidate of the Farmer-Labor Party. In 1924, he became campaign manager for the congressional campaign of Fiorello La Guardia, then a Progressive–Socialist. Together, LaGuardia and Marcantonio also campaigned for U.S. Senator Robert M. La Follette for President. Marcantonio also became secretary of the Tenants League, which fought high rents and evictions. After passing the New York bar examination in 1925, Marcatonio began practicing law, first for Foster, La Guardia, and Cutler. He clerked at the law firm of Swinburne Hale, Walter Nelles, and Isaac Shorr, known for its representation of politically radical individuals and organizations. There, he worked with labor lawyer Joseph R. Brodsky, who "significantly contributed to his left orientation" toward Marxism. From 1926 to 1932, Marcantonio ran La Guardia's campaigns every two years. From 1930 to 1931, he worked as an assistant United States attorney. Political career