[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 51 (Thursday, March 18, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E275]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     HERMAN ROBERTS--BLACK BUSINESSMAN, CIVIC LEADER, CHICAGO ICON

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                          HON. DANNY K. DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 18, 2021

  Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute 
to one of Chicago's brightest lights who recently passed away at the 
age of 97, Mr. Herman Roberts. The Chicago Sun-Times wrote that Herman 
Roberts came to Chicago with nothing during the ``Great Migration and 
ended up a tycoon''. At one time or another he owned 35 taxis, eight 
motels, a nightclub, which swung with some of the world's greatest 
stars, a bowling alley, a skating rink, and oil wells on a 2000-acre 
ranch in Oklahoma. Mr. Roberts grew up as one of six children in Beggs, 
Oklahoma, around his age of about 12 his family moved to Chicago where 
he went to Burke Elementary and Englewood High School on the southside 
of the city. After high school he went into the taxicab business and 
built a fleet in the Black Community when and where white owned cabs 
usually would not transport Black patrons. In the early 1950's he 
opened his first lounge, the Lucky Spot and a few years later The 
Roberts Show Lounge in a garage building where he had once housed his 
taxicabs. Mr. Roberts was a genius at booking and showmanship. Stars 
like Nina Simone, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan, Sammy Davis Jr., 
Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke, Red Foxx, Moms Mabley, Dick Gregory and 
others were regular features. In 1960, he built his first motel on 63rd 
Street, then six more. In 1974, he installed a removable stage in the 
parking lot and brought in stars like Count Basie, Billy Eckstine, 
Ramsey Lewis, Della Reese and Nipsey Russell to name a few. Mr. Roberts 
did not only spend time looking after his business in Chicago; but also 
spent time at the ranch in Oklahoma. At its peak his ranch had several 
oil wells, 100 horses, pigs, French breed of cattle and peacocks. In 
addition to everything else that Mr. Roberts was and did, the Roberts 
Motel 500 Room was a major launching pad for the official kick off of 
The Harold Washington Campaign for Mayor which changed Chicago Politics 
forever. I say congratulations to Mr. Herman Roberts on all his 
outstanding achievements and thanks to his children and grandchildren 
for keeping his legacy and spirit alive, especially to his daughter 
Sharla Roberts, Director of Procurement Diversity at the University of 
Illinois at Chicago.

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