Norris Wright Cuney | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chair of the Texas Republican Party | |
| In office 1886–1896 | |
| Preceded by | Edmund J. Davis |
| Succeeded by | William Madison McDonald |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 12, 1846 Hempstead, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | March 3, 1898 (aged 51) San Antonio, Texas, U.S. |
| Resting place | Lakeview Cemetery, Galveston, Texas 29°16′52″N 94°49′33″W / 29.28111°N 94.82583°W |
| Political party | Republican |
| Children | Maud Cuney Hare, Lloyd Garrison Cuney |
| Parent(s) | Philip Cuney Adeline Stuart |
Norris Wright Cuney (May 12, 1846 – March 3, 1898) was an American politician, businessman, union leader, and advocate for the rights of African-Americans in Texas. Following the American Civil War, he became active in Galveston politics, serving as an alderman and a national Republican delegate. He was appointed as United States Collector of Customs in 1889 in Galveston. Cuney had the highest-ranking appointed position of any African American in the late 19th-century South.[1] He was a member of the Union League and helped attract black voters to the Republican Party; in the 1890s, more than 100,000 blacks were voting in Texas.
Establishing his own stevedores business, he helped to unionize black workers in Galveston, opening jobs for them on the docks. He substantially improved employment and educational opportunities for blacks in the city. He eventually rose to the chairmanship of the Texas Republican Party and became a national committeeman.
Cuney is regarded by many as the most important black leader in Texas in the 19th century and one of the most important in the United States.
- ^ Hales (2003), p.16