James C. Fields

Who is James C. Fields?

Rev. James C. Fields, Jr. is an African-American civil servant and minister in the United Methodist Church who served in the Alabama House of Representatives. A native of Colony, Alabama, Fields was the first African American to be a candidate for elective office in Cullman County, Alabama, which is predominantly white.

Fields grew up on his family's small farm in Colony, Alabama. After graduating from Hanceville High School, he attended Jacksonville State University, where he obtained a bachelor's degree in law enforcement. Subsequently he served in the U.S. Marines, attending officer training at the Marine Corps Academy in Quantico, Virginia, and leaving with an honorable discharge. He has worked for the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations for nearly three decades and is a minister at St. James United Methodist Church in Irondale, Alabama. He and his wife Yvette have seven children and 13 grandchildren.

He was elected as a Democratic member of the Alabama House of Representatives in a special election on January 29, 2008. He was defeated for reelection in 2010 by fellow Methodist, minister Mac Buttram.