Horace J. Bryant, Jr.

Horace J. Bryant, Jr. (June 29, 1909 – April 13, 1983) was an African American civil rights activist, banking commissioner, and politician from New Jersey. As Commissioner of Banking and Insurance under Governor Richard J. Hughes, he was the first African American to serve in a State Cabinet position in the New Jersey government.

Bryant was born and raised in the predominantly African American community of Lawnside, New Jersey. He was the son of Horace J. Bryant, Sr., a onetime carpenter who succeeded as a builder and real estate developer. His father also served as the New Jersey General Assembly's first African American calendar clerk, responsible for billing and scheduling.

He earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from Temple University in 1929. In 1930, he joined state service as a junior bank examiner in the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance.

In 1939, Bryant moved to Atlantic City and became involved in local Republican Party politics. He ran for local office in Atlantic City in 1948, the first African American to do so, and again in 1952. He was unsuccessful in both races, having been frozen out by Atlantic County political boss Frank S. Farley.

Bryant then joined the Democratic Party and became active at the local and state levels. He was a life member of the NAACP and spoke out on civil rights issues in Atlantic City. He led efforts to integrate Atlantic City's movie theatres in the 1950s, and he founded the Northside Union League Federal Credit Union, the city's first African American financial institution.

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