Charles Diggs was born in Detroit into a family that was already heavily involved in public service and politics.

His father, Charles Coles Diggs Jr., was Michigan’s first Black state senator, giving young Charles an early foundation for his future civic leadership experience.

Diggs attended Detroit public schools and later Wayne State University before completing graduate work at Fisk University and the University of Michigan.

He then studied mortuary science and busied himself running his family’s funeral business before making the shift into politics.

Diggs served in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1954, representing Detroit in Michigan’s 13th District.

His election shattered barriers and gave Detroit’s Black community representation in Congress for the very first time, pushing him into the spotlight as an advocate for civil rights and social justice in Washington.

Diggs was among the first and most outspoken Northern congressmen to support the civil rights movement.

In 1955, he attended the Emmett Till trial in Mississippi, which became nationally known and gave federal legitimacy to the black community’s demands for justice.

Fast forward about a decade and a half later:

In 1971, Diggs founded the Congressional Black Caucus, which worked to ensure African Americans had a voice in Congress, setting the agenda for voting rights, housing, education, and economic opportunity as its first chairman.

Globally, Diggs was also a strong opponent of apartheid in South Africa.

He pushed Congress to act against racial injustice abroad as chairman of the House Subcommittee on Africa and linked the Black freedom struggle in America to South Africa’s struggles for liberation, becoming a respected activist throughout the 1970s.

That said, Diggs’ career did not end on a high note.

In 1978, he did a brief stint in prison for mail fraud and false payroll charges after taking kickbacks from staff salaries, which led to his resignation from office in 1980.

It was an unfortunate downward slide for a man who had accomplished so much over the course of his career, yet many Detroiters still regarded him as a pioneer – one whose legacy could not be overshadowed by his fall.

Charles Diggs’ story is one that contains multitudes: breakthrough and contradiction, inspiration and caution.

He broke new ground by giving Detroit (and Michigan as a whole) a place in Congress, fighting for civil rights right on the front lines all while connecting local freedom fighting to global causes unfolding elsewhere.

For Detroit, Charles Diggs will always be regarded as a trailblazer: a fearless leader who gave Black Americans a voice in the cutthroat world of politics.

Victoria Jackson (Editor In Chief)

Victoria Jackson is a lifelong student and sharp-eyed documentarian of all things Detroit, from its rich musical roots and cultural icons to its shifting neighborhoods, storied architecture, and underground legends. With her finger firmly on the pulse of both the city’s vibrant past and its rapidly unfolding future, she brings a deeply personal, historically grounded lens to every piece she writes.

Published on: August 22, 2025