In 1920, Brooklynite sought to become 1st black person

Franklin Morton was looking to make history. He had high ambitions for a guy still in his 20s. In September 1920 he was on track to become the first black person ever to win elective office in Brooklyn.

Morton was running in a primary race for a state Assembly seat representing the downtown section of the borough, where middleclass blacks from the South and the Caribbean had begun to cluster.

The 1920 campaign for the 1st Assembly District in many ways parallels the current Queens district attorney battle between outsider Tiffany Caban and Borough President Melinda Katz.

Morton had much on his side when he launched his candidacy.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, he was a licensed lawyer and had a lineage that stunned. Both his parents were physicians. His mother, Dr. Verina MortonJones, was also a founder of the Brooklyn NAACP. His father, Dr. Walter Alfred Morton, earned his degree from the prestigious Dartmouth Medical School.

With the boldness of a seasoned politician, young Morton campaigned through the 1st Assembly District giving speeches and shaking hands with the blacks and many liberal whites in the area. He knew he was facing significant opposition. His opponent, John Warren, also a lawyer, was considered the “machine” candidate backed by the power brokers. In addition to that, Warren was white.

Warren had come to Brooklyn in 1903 from upstate Fredonia, and like many whites living in downtown Brooklyn in those days, he identified himself as coming from “old American stock.”

But on Primary Day, Sept 14, Morton was swiftly declared the winner.

“Warren Defeated by Morton, Negro in Assembly Race,” The Brooklyn Daily Eagle declared. The paper reported Morton had received 1,168 ballots against Warren’s 1,151. “Colored Man Wins,” shouted The Brooklyn Daily Times.

But the 17-vote difference gave Warren grounds to demand a recount.