Ethel Skyles Alexander (Finding Aid)

Ethel Skyles Alexander

1925 -

Favorite Color: Blue

Favorite Time of Year: Spring

Favorite Vacation Spot: Hot Springs, Arkansas

Interview Length: 94 minutes

Interview Date(s): April 2, 2001

Interview Location(s): Chicago, Illinois

Abstract

Ethel Alexander details her family background and her family life growing up in Chicago. Alexander's father was a state politician, and Alexander tells stories of his service in Springfield and profiles some of the other black representatives he worked with, including Corneal Davis and Fred Smith. Alexander also details the changing political climate in Chicago during the 1940s and 1950s, when her father was serving as a politician. Ethel Alexander describes her education, from Sherwood Elementary and Englewood High School on Chicago's South Side, to Loop Junior College in Chicago. Alexander then explains how her father helped get her a job at the Circuit Court of Cook County, where she held a post for over three decades. Alexander then talks about how she first got into state politics, detailing her first election, which she lost, then explaining how she won in her second attempt to become a state representative. Alexander shares many stories about her time as a representative, profiling Illinois politicians like Harold Washington and Charles Chew. Ethel Alexander discusses in detail her time in the Illinois General Assembly, naming many of the influential black politicians with whom she worked, and telling of her participation in important votes and tactics she used when dealing with lobbyists and fellow legislators. Alexander also explains the importance of the General Assembly to blacks living in Chicago. Ethel Alexander discusses the importance of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus and comments on the legacy of herself and other black members of the Illinois General Assembly.

24 Stories (See Ordered Story Set)