Kenneth Allison Roberts (November 1, 1912 – May 9, 1989) was an American lawyer, World War II veteran, and politician who served seven terms as a U.S. Representative from Alabama from 1951 to 1965.
Early Life and Education
Roberts was born in Piedmont, Calhoun County, Alabama. He attended public schools and Howard College (now Samford University) in Birmingham, Alabama. He graduated from the University of Alabama Law School in 1935 and was admitted to the bar in 1936. He practiced law in Anniston, Alabama (1936) and in Talladega (1937–1942).
Military Service
Roberts was elected to the Alabama State Senate in 1942 but resigned the same year to enter the United States Navy. He served in both the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters during World War II and was discharged as a lieutenant in 1945.
Early Career
From 1945 to 1950, Roberts served as president of the Piedmont Development Co. He also served as a member of the Alabama State Board of Veterans Affairs and as city attorney of Piedmont, Alabama, from 1948 to 1950.
Congressional Career
Roberts was elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-second and six succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1951, to January 3, 1965. He represented Alabama's Fourth District from 1951 to 1963 and the state's at-large district from 1963 to 1965.
During his tenure, Roberts was wounded in the 1954 United States Capitol shooting, in which Puerto Rican nationalists opened fire on the House floor. He was a signatory to the 1956 Southern Manifesto opposing the desegregation of public schools ordered by the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education, and he voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
Roberts led the establishment of federal safety legislation through the House of Representatives subcommittee on traffic safety, which was formed in 1956. In 1963, he introduced the U.S. Clean Air Act. During his final year in Congress, he advocated for a vision care program for the needy, linking the need for one to the War on Poverty. His voting record was predominantly liberal, and he has been described as a consistently pro-labor congressman.
Later Career and Death
Roberts was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1964. He resumed the practice of law until his retirement in 1979. From 1965 to 1972, he served as counsel for the Vehicle Equipment Safety Commission, and he was a member of the National Highway Safety Advisory Committee from 1966 to 1970.
Roberts died of congestive heart failure in Potomac, Maryland, on May 9, 1989. He was interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
