Watts, J. C. (1957–)

Former Republican Congressman Julius Caesar “J. C.” Watts, Jr. has the natural gift of charisma and leadership, skills that were honed as a football quarterback and as a youth minister. Although he received many individual honors in sports and politics, he was always revered as a team player.

His accomplishments in sports shaped his personality and his public image, preparing him for a future career in politics. He quarterbacked the Eufaula Iron Heads, the University of Oklahoma Sooners, and the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). In 1980 and 1981 Watts was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Orange Bowl, leading his Sooners to two consecutive conference championships and Orange Bowl titles. In his CFL rookie season he was MVP of the Gray Cup game, even though his team ultimately lost the championship. When asked the source of his charisma, Watts once explained that he had spent much of his life standing next to the coach in a receiving line.

During his political career Watts was a trailblazer for African Americans. In 1990 he was the first African American elected to statewide office in Oklahoma. He became the only Republican African American in Congress in 1994, when he was elected in Oklahoma's largely rural and white Fourth Congressional District. In 1997 he was the first African American to deliver his political party's response to the president's State of the Union Address. In 1998 he became the first African American to gain a Republican leadership position in Congress when he was elected chairman of the House Republican Conference.

Politics and controversy were no stranger to the Watts family. Watts's Uncle Wade served as the president of the Oklahoma NAACP. As a child, Watts participated in the integration of Jefferson Davis Elementary School in Eufaula, Oklahoma.

Raised in a staunchly Democratic family, Watts is a proud conservative, claiming that his upbringing and faith taught him the value of hard work, family, and doing the right thing. He opposed many of the social programs that other African American leaders supported, believing they reduce incentives for personal responsibility and degrade family. In Washington he refused to join the Congressional Black Caucus.

Nationally, many African American leaders criticized his conservative stands. However, in Oklahoma he enjoyed the support of several African American state legislators. These local leaders stepped forward to publicly condemn Watts's 1994 Democratic opponent for playing a race card in his first congressional campaign.

Although Watts preferred to be known for his character and policy positions rather than for the color of [Page 827]his skin, news coverage continually alluded to it. One reporter noted that he gets testy when asked about being an African American Republican. Watts generally dismissed race as unimportant.

After leaving Congress, Watts started a consulting company and is regularly seen as a political commentator on national television. Watts is often mentioned as a potential candidate for office in Oklahoma and nationally.