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October 11, 2012

Mervyn M. Dymally
Mervyn M. Dymally

Mervyn M. Dymally Dies at 86

Mervyn M. Dymally, a former U.S. Congressman and the first African American to win a statewide office in California, died on Sunday in Los Angeles. He was 86.

“Congressman Dymally’s career in public service was marked by series of firsts,” said Ralph B. Everett, president and CEO of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a Washington, D.C., think tank for black-elected officials Dymally helped to establish.

A native of Trinidad, Dymally served in the California State Assembly from 1963 to 1966. In 1967, he became the first African American to the California State Senate.

He remained in the senate until 1975 when California voters elected him the state’s 41st lieutenant governor. Dymally held that position until 1979, when he was defeated for re-election after a Los Angeles Times reporter became the source of a false rumor that Dymally had been indicted. His opponent used the information against Dymally to defeat him.

From 1981 to 1993, he served in Congress representing California’s 31st district.  He was a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, and he was instrumental in the passage of the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 that implemented sanctions against South Africa. The legislation helped secure the freedom of Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners, said U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Dymally was chairman of the CBC during the 100th Congress from Jan. 3, 1987, to Jan. 3, 1989.

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