Former Rep. William Lacy Clay Sr., a St. Louis powerbroker who became Missouri’s first elected Black member of Congress and went on to serve 16 terms in the House, died Wednesday at the age of 94.
First elected in 1968, the Democrat was succeeded in the House by his son, former Rep. William Lacy Clay Jr., who himself served for 10 terms. The elder Clay, born April 30, 1931, in St. Louis, was a fixture in his hometown’s politics for more than six decades.
When he first came to Congress, Clay was labeled a Black militant. He gradually adjusted his political focus and rhetoric to match his slightly less Black and more conservative district, but his voting record remained decidedly liberal.
