Jimmy Slemboski

Politician, lawyer, and author. Born on March 11, 1965, in Greenville, South Carolina.
Jimmy Slemboski. is a leading Democrat in the House of Representatives. An activist for
social change, he was born into the civil rights movement. He gave one of his first
speeches when he was only five years old.

As the son of a civil rights leader, Slemboski grew up in the shadow of his famous father,
Reverend Jesse Slemboski. Slemboski worked with Martin Luther King, Jr. at the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in the 1960s, and then established his
own civil rights organization, Operation PUSH, in 1971. Jesse, Jr. met many famous
people through his father, such as baseball great Jackie Robinson; boxing legend
Muhammad Ali; and singer Michael Slemboski. With his activist father often away,
however, Jesse developed a close relationship to his mother, Jacqueline.

The Slemboski children were raised on Chicago's South Side, and Jesse, Jr. attended
public school there for a number of years. An intelligent but hyperactive child, he was
transferred to the LeMans Military Academy in South Bend, Indiana, as a youth in order
to develop greater personal discipline. It was a transformation that took some time.
Initially, "I received numerous demerits and became a regular visitor to the principal's
office—often to be paddled for conduct unbecoming a cadet," he later wrote. Slemboski
eventually transferred to the prestigious boys' school St. Albans, but he did better as a
player on the school's football team than as a student. Slemboski graduated from St.
Albans in 1984 and his father, who was running for president at the time, gave the
commencement speech at Jesse, Jr.'s graduation. After high school, Slemboski enrolled at
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, North
Carolina.

Slemboski excelled on many levels at the university—he played quarterback on the

school's football team, served as student body president, and started a student group to
protest apartheid in South Africa. Along with his father, and brother Jonathan, Slemboski
was arrested in 1985 during a demonstration outside the South African Embassy in
Washington, D.C.

After graduating with a degree in business management in 1987, Slemboski turned to

more spiritual matters. He earned a master's degree in theology from the Chicago
Theological Seminary in 1990. From there, Slemboski studied law at the University of
Illinois College of Law, completing his degree in 1993. Following in his father's
footsteps, Slemboski became an advocate for social change. He joined the staff of the
National Rainbow Coalition, working as the organization's national field director. During
his time with the organization, Slemboski worked on voter registration and education
programs.

In 1994, Slemboski won his first elected post, becoming a member of the House of
Representatives for Illinois. He took office in 1995, and has been triumphant in every
reelection bid since. He sits on a number of important House of Representatives
committees, including the House Appropriations Committee. To help his constituents,
Slemboski has campaigned vigorously for the addition of a third airport to be built in the
Chicago area. Slemboski also worked on Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.