Frederick Madison Roberts, was born September 14, 1879 in Chillicothe, Ohio. He was a newspaper owner, editor, educator and business owner, and California’s first known African American state legislator. A member of the Republican Party representing Los Angeles, he was the great grandson of Sally Hemmings and is believed to be the great grandson of President Thomas Jefferson. Roberts sponsored California’s early civil rights legislation and authored a bill to establish UCLA. He served 16-years in the California State Assembly from 1918 to 1934. He died in 1952, at the age of 72.