James M. Alexander
American politician
James Milo Alexander (February 7, 1815 – May 27, 1871) was an African-American businessperson and politician in Phillips County, Arkansas. Alexander was a successful businessperson and the first African-American justice of the peace in Arkansas.
Born into slavery in North Carolina, his enslaver taught him how to read and write. After moving to Arkansas, which was then a frontier region, Alexander's master allowed him to establish his own business, a barbershop. Though his business prospered and grew to include the sale of dry goods, he remained in bondage until purchasing his freedom and that of several family members in 1860.
Political career
After the war, Alexander was active in Republican politics and served in a number of political offices in Helena, Arkansas including as postmaster, school trustee, grand jury member, and as a representative to the Arkansas House of Representatives, serving in the 11th District, which at that time was composed of Phillips and Monroe Counties. Alexander was an outspoken supporter of Powell Clayton. He voted to elevate Clayton to the Senate. He was also an active member of Prince Hall Freemasonry through the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Arkansas. The first African American masonic lodge in the state was named in his honor.
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This entry incorporates text from “James M. Alexander” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.