Edward Herbert Wright ( September 28 , 1863 in New York CityAugust 6 , 1930 in Rochester , Minnesota ) was an American politician and political activist who helped play a pivotal early role in African-American political participation in Chicago . A graduate of the College of the City of New York at 17 years old , Wright taught in New Jersey for three years . After his arrival in Chicago while looking for a job , Wright found odd jobs such as assisting a Pullman porter , working as a real estate office assistant and working in the registry department of the post office . He soon caught the eye of local elected officials , and was hired into the county clerk ’s office . Wright participated in the 1888 Republican National Convention , which was hosted in Chicago , and was rewarded for his work by being hired as bookkeeper and railroad incorporation clerk in the secretary of state ’s office , the first African-American to be appointed to a clerical position in state government . After Secretary Isaac N. Pearson 's term ended , Wright left his position to work in the Chicago city clerk ’s office for two years . He was then elected 1895 for a one-year term as South Town clerk , and helped secure the 1894 election of Theodore W. Jones as Cook County commissioner , the second African-American to be elected to the commission ( and a relative of John Jones , the first African-American elected to the commission in 1872 ) . By 1896 , Wright became the third African-American county commissioner , and was also admitted to the bar that same year . As county commissioner , Wright continued to gain work for other African-Americans in Chicago , including Ferdinand Lee Barnett as the first African American assistant state ’s attorney for Cook County . Upon being re-elected to the county commission in 1898 , he secured election as president pro-tem of the body . However , after he failed to be re-elected in 1900 , Wright spent the next fifteen years confined largely to activism for racial equality in Republican county committee meetings . When William Hale Thompson joined the race for mayor in 1915 , Wright helped secure pledge cards for Thompson . After Thompson 's election , he rewarded Wright with the position of assistant corporation counsel with a salary higher than any other African-American appointee . Wright took over Alderman Oscar Stanton De Priest 's position as an organizational leader for Thompson 's campaigns for senator and mayor , and was then appointed by Thompson as one of the attorneys for the Traction Commission in 1919 . Wright gained increased political power when he was elected Republican committeeman of the Second Ward , a position which allowed him to nominate African-American state senators , state representatives and municipal judges and send delegates to Republican conventions . His most potent feat was nominating Albert George as a municipal judge in 1924 . Wright 's political continued until he and Thompson , who ran again for mayor in 1926 , had a falling out over the nomination of a First Ward Republican committeeman . Wright backed a different candidate than Thompson , but the former 's candidate lost , and Wright left politics altogether . Wright moved to Rochester , Minnesota , where he died in 1930 .
1888 Republican National Convention
1888 Republican National Convention
Edward Herbert Wright