Ernie Chambers
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Senator Ernie Chambers |
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| Member of the Nebraska Legislature from the 11th district |
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Assumed office 2013 |
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| Preceded by | Brenda Council |
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In office 1971–2009 |
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| Preceded by | George W Althouse |
| Succeeded by | Brenda Council |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Ernest William Chambers July 10, 1937 Omaha, Nebraska US |
| Political party | Independent |
| Residence | Omaha, Nebraska, US |
| Alma mater |
Creighton University Creighton University School of Law |
Ernest William "Ernie" Chambers (born July 10, 1937) is an American politician who represents North Omaha's 11th District in the Nebraska State Legislature.
Chambers is the longest-serving state senator in the history of Nebraska. He is also the only African-American to have run for governor and the US Senate in Nebraska's history.
Chambers was born in the Near North Side neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska, to father Malcolm Chambers, a local minister, and mother Lillian Chambers. Chambers' father's family originally comes from Mississippi, while his mother's family originally comes from Louisiana. He has six siblings who were all born in Omaha.
In 1955, Chambers graduated from Omaha Tech High School. In 1959, he graduated from Creighton University with a B.A. in history, with minors in Spanish and philosophy. He attended Creighton University School of Law in the early 1960s and completed his degree in 1979. He refused to join the Nebraska State Bar Association, so was unable to practice law; in 2015, he explained his refusal on the grounds that he had earned the right to practice by passing law school, and should not have to pay the Bar Association dues as well.
In 1963, when Chambers was 25 years old, he worked for the Omaha Post Office. Chambers said he was fired for insubordination because he spoke out against the management at the Post Office referring to the black staff as “boys.” He picketed the Postmaster General’s speech in Omaha with a sign that read, “I spoke against discrimination in the Omaha Post Office and was fired.”
During a series of heat waves in the summer of 1966, there were two disturbances in Omaha: In July, the Nebraska National Guard was summoned to restore order after police and black teenagers clashed three nights in a row. And in early August, a series of riots occurred over three nights. Chambers worked as a spokesperson for the community during both conflicts, meeting with Mayor A.V. Sorenson, helping to end the riots. During this period, Chambers emerged as a prominent leader in the North Omaha community where he successfully negotiated concessions from the city's leaders on behalf of the African-American youths of North Omaha. Chambers headed a committee of the Near North Side Police-Community Relations Council collated information and presented numerous complaints about the police to city officials. Previously the African-American community was led by more established organizations like Omaha Urban League and the local chapter of the NAACP, not an emerging young anti-establishment leader like Chambers.
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