Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. - Marriage and Family

Marriage and Family

In 1933, Powell married Isabel Washington, a singer and nightclub entertainer. She was the sister of actress Fredi Washington. Powell adopted her son Preston, from her first marriage.

After their divorce, in 1945 Powell married the singer Hazel Scott. They had a son, Adam Clayton Powell III. Adam Clayton Powell III is Vice Provost for Globalization at the University of Southern California (USC). He is one of the world's leading authorities on the use of the Internet for journalists. (He named his son Adam Clayton Powell IV.)

Powell divorced again, and in 1960 married Yvette Flores Diago from Puerto Rico. They had a son, whom he also named Adam Clayton Powell, adding Diago to show the mother's name, in the tradition of some Latino cultures. In 1980, this son changed his name to Adam Clayton Powell IV, dropping Diago, when he moved to the mainland from Puerto Rico to attend Howard University. (This has caused confusion as his half-nephew, 8 years younger than he, was also named Adam Clayton Powell IV.) He later became a politician in New York.

A. C. Powell IV (Diago's son) was elected to the New York City Council in 1991 in a special election; he served for two terms. He also was elected as a New York state Assemblyman (D-East Harlem) for three terms. He named his son Adam Clayton Powell V. In the 2010 Democratic primary election, A. C. Powell IV unsuccessfully challenged the incumbent Charles B. Rangel for the Democratic candidacy in his father's Congressional District.