As we watch activists from groups like Black Lives Matter make decisions to run for political office, we should also be aware of the history of the men and women who first opened those doors by making the transition from protest to electoral politics.
One of the foremost is Ronald Vernie "Ron" Dellums, elected as a Democrat to the 92nd Congress in 1970 from the Berkeley, California, City Council. An open Democratic socialist, he went on to serve 13 consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was then mayor of Oakland, California, from January 8, 2007 to January 3, 2011. At 80 years old...