Adam Clayton Powell jr was elected to the House of Representatives in 1945 representing the Harlem District of New York. He was the first African American elected from New York to the House. In 1961 after being in the House for 16 years he became the Chairman of the Education and Labor Committee. He was a strong supporter of the legislative agenda of both Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. In 1967 he was accuses of various improprieties as chairman and the House stripped him of his chairmanship and and his seat. His response to an accusation that he took two young female staff members on a committee trip was:’ I wish to state very emphatically... that I will always do just what every other Congressman and committee chairman has done and is doing and will do.”

Powell was reelected by his district and sued in the Supreme Court which ruled int his favor in the case of Powell v McCormack stating that his removal from his seat was unconstitutional.