Herbert Ulysses Gaillard Fielding (July 6, 1923 – August 10, 2015) was an American politician who became the first African-American elected as a Democrat to the South Carolina General Assembly.^[1]

Herbert Ulysses Fielding was the son of Julius and Sadie Fielding. Fielding served in the United States Army during World War II prior to attending and receiving his B.S. degree from West Virginia State College in 1948.

In 1952, Fielding took charge of the day-to-day operations of the family funeral home business, becoming President and CEO of Fielding Home for Funeral Services. Founded in 1912 by Fielding’s father, Fielding Home for Funeral Services was the largest African American-owned and operated funeral home in the state of South Carolina.^[2] Fielding died on August 10, 2015.^[3]

Fielding became involved in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. He often paid for the bail of civil rights activists, picketers and demonstrators. Fielding encouraged African Americans to vote and mobilized them to memorize the constitution in order to gain voting rights. Fielding's political papers from that era are housed at the College of Charleston.^[4]

Herbert Fielding papers at the College of Charleston's Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture