5 november 1968 & presidential, school board elections
#OTD 5 November 1968 DC residents went to the polls to vote for president and to vote for the school board, the first local election in the 20th century.
The caption for the above photo, which appeared in the Hilltop newspaper, states:
“THIS TIME THE BALLOT - NEXT TIME ??? - D.C. voters leave polls in the First Ward, their faces indicating mixed emotions, perhaps at the thought of what was at stake. This year marked the first time that District residents could elect members of the School Board, however, the results of the race by 89 candidates for 12 seats was the need for a runoff election of ward candidates in every ward. The Humphrey campaign poster at the door to the polls seems to picture the Presidential candidate in a moment of distress, almost as if he knew that his dreams would be burst by a “Slippery Dick.”
Also, notice to the left the poster of Charles Cassell, school board candidate.
On 4 November, Cassell was one of four speakers at a pre-election event at Howard University, which was attended by ~200 students. The other speakers were Charlene Mitchell, a presidential candidate for the Communist Party; Dr. Shepherd, a Nixon supporter and member of a new organization, Blacks for a Two Party Voice; and Julius Hobson, a School Board candidate.
Your comments are welcome below. Did you, family members or neighbors vote for president and school board members? If so, where did you vote? Do you recognize this polling place? Did you run for school board? Do you have any campaign posters? I’m particularly interested in the Charles Cassell poster. It appears to be a Lloyd McNeill/Lou Stovall screenprint. You may comment privately here.
Photo source: Courtesy E. Ethelbert Miller Collection. Photo appeared in Hilltop newspaper 8 November 1968. Photographer unknown. Fair use.
Found information re pre-election meeting at DC Office of Public Records and Archives, Record Group 23, which contains the Records of the Office of Emergency Preparedness. Demonstrations, Civil Disturbances and Special Events, 1965, 1968-1978. 4 November 1968. These are police surveillance records. I thank Bill Branch, Archivist, for his assistance.
