- List of first African-American mayors
In the 20th century, the first African-American mayors of cities were elected or appointed following the achievements of the Civil Rights Movement and passage of related legislation in 1964 and 1965. Achievements in
African Americans ' being elected mayor in majorityEuropean American and major cities marked important progress in breaking down political barriers. Their election as mayors of cities large and small made their political participation one of daily life in many localities. This list is devoted to all who were the first African-American mayors of cities. Whether appointed or elected from among those sitting on a city council or commission, and moreso if elected at large, mayors had to develop coalitions among many voters to win office.In the 19th century in the South during Reconstruction, African Americans began to be elected to the many local offices: sheriff, parish or county justice of the peace, where government was closest to peoples' lives. They achieved the most positions in local government in the 1880s, even after Democratically controlled legislatures started creating new statutes to eliminate them from voting. Disfranchisement of most African Americans and many poor European Americans was essentially completed in all the former states of the Confederacy by passage of constitutions or amendments from 1890-1908.
The
Civil Rights Movement progressed for decades in the United States, raising awareness of social justice. With the passage of theCivil Rights Act of 1964 andVoting Rights Act of 1965, African Americans began to exercise more political power throughout the nation.1860s
* 1868::First African-American mayor of a US town:
Pierre Caliste Landry ,Donaldsonville, Louisiana [ [http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/travel/25trail.html?scp=4&sq=Louisiana&st=nytRon Stodghill, "Driving Back Into Louisiana’s History", "NY Times", 25 May 2008] , accessed 7 Jul 2008]1880s
* 1888::First African-American mayor of a predominately white US town, and of a Western US town:
Edward Duplex ,Wheatland, California [ [http://www.blackpast.org/?q=timelines/african-american-history-american-west-timeline"African American History American West Timeline", "BlackPast.org"] , accessed 3 Aug 2008]1950s
* 1953::First African-American mayor of a US town:
B.T. Woodard ,Grambling, Louisiana [ [http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/travel/25trail.html?scp=4&sq=Louisiana&st=nytRon Stodghill, "Driving Back Into Louisiana’s History", "NY Times", 25 May 2008] , accessed 7 Jul 2008]1960s
* 1966::First African-American mayor of a U.S. city:
Robert C. Henry , (Springfield, Ohio , appointed by city commission)* 1967::First African-American elected mayor of a large U.S. city:
Carl B. Stokes (Cleveland, Ohio )::First African-American elected mayor ofGary, Indiana :Richard G. Hatcher * 1968::First African American elected mayor of a predominantly white southern city:
Howard Nathaniel Lee ,Chapel Hill, North Carolina [ [http://www.ncuc.commerce.state.nc.us/overview/uclee.htm Howard N. Lee] , North Carolina Utilities Commission, accessed 25 May 2008]1970s
* 1970::First African-American elected mayor of
Newark, New Jersey : Kenneth A. Gibson ::First African-American elected mayor,Dayton, Ohio :James H. McGee * 1973::First African American elected mayor of a southern state capital:
Clarence Lightner ,Raleigh, North Carolina ::First African American elected mayor of a major southern city:Maynard Jackson ,Atlanta, Georgia . Every mayor elected since 1973 has been black. [cite web
author=Lawrence Kestenbaum
title=Mayors of Atlanta, Georgia
publisher=The Political Graveyard |date=
url=http://www.politicalgraveyard.com/geo/GA/ofc/atlanta.html
accessdate=2008-03-07] ::First African American elected mayor of a major western city: Tom Bradley,Los Angeles, California ::First African-American woman mayor of a U.S. metropolitan city:Doris A. Davis ,Compton, California * 1975::First African-American elected mayor, and first elected mayor, of
Washington, D.C. :Walter Washington ::First African-American elected mayor ofDetroit, Michigan :Coleman Young * 1978::First African-American elected mayor of
Oakland, California :Lionel J. Wilson ::First African-American elected mayor ofNew Orleans, Louisiana :Ernest Nathan Morial 1980s
* 1982::First African-American elected Mayor of
Augusta, Maine and first black mayor inMaine : William Burney
* 1983::First African-American electedmayor ofChicago :Harold Washington ::First African-American elected mayor ofCharlotte, North Carolina :Harvey Gantt
* 1984::First African-American elected mayor ofAtlantic City, New Jersey :James Usry ::First African-American elected mayor ofPhiladelphia, PA :Wilson Goode ::First African-American elected mayor ofPortsmouth, Virginia :James W. Holley, III * 1988::First African-American elected mayor of
Baltimore, Maryland :Kurt Schmoke * 1989::First African-American elected mayor of
New York City :David Dinkins ::First African-American elected mayor ofSeattle, Washington :Norm Rice 1990s
*1990::First African-American elected mayor of
Trenton, New Jersey :Douglas Palmer * 1991::First African-American elected mayor of
Memphis, Tennessee :W.W. Herenton ::First African-American elected mayor ofDenver, Colorado :Wellington Webb ::First African-American elected mayor ofKansas City, Missouri :Emanuel Cleaver * 1993::First African-American elected mayor of
St. Louis, Missouri :Freeman Bosley, Jr. * 1993::First African-American elected mayor of
Dallas, Texas :Ron Kirk ::First African-American elected mayor ofRochester, New York :William A. Johnson, Jr. * 1994::First African-American elected mayor of
Lewiston, Maine : John Jenkins::First African-American and first woman elected mayor ofMinneapolis, Minnesota :Sharon Sayles Belton * 1996::First African-American elected mayor of
San Francisco : Willie Brown* 1997::First African-American elected mayor of
Jackson, Mississippi :Harvey Johnson, Jr. ::First African-American elected mayor ofHouston, Texas : Dr.Lee P. Brown 2000s
* 2000::First African-American elected mayor of
Columbus, Ohio :Michael B. Coleman ::First African-American elected mayor ofSelma, Alabama :James Perkins, Jr. ::First African-American elected mayor ofSouth Ogden, Utah and first African-American mayor inUtah : George Garwood* 2001::First African-American woman mayor of major southern city:
Shirley Franklin ,Atlanta, Georgia , also the first woman to be elected mayor of Atlanta [cite web
author=Josh Fecht and Andrew Stevens
title=Shirley Franklin: Mayor of Atlanta
publisher=City Mayors |date=2007-11-14
url=http://www.citymayors.com/usa/atlanta.html
accessdate=2008-01-27] ::First African-American and first woman elected mayor ofSouthfield, Michigan :Brenda L. Lawrence * 2002'::First African-American woman elected mayor of
Dayton, Ohio :Rhine McLin * 2003::First African-American and first woman elected mayor of
Greenville, Mississippi :Heather McTeer-Hudson * 2004::First African-American elected mayor of
Baton Rouge, Louisiana :Kip Holden * 2005::First African-American elected mayor of
Buffalo, New York :Byron Brown ::First African-American elected mayor ofRichmond, Virginia :Douglas Wilder ::First African-American elected mayor ofMobile, Alabama :Sam Jones ::First African-American elected mayor ofAsheville, North Carolina :Terry Bellamy ::First African-American elected mayor ofCincinnati, Ohio :Mark Mallory ::First African-American elected mayor ofYoungstown, Ohio :Jay Williams * 2006::First African-American elected mayor of
Auburn, Maine : John Jenkins::First African-American elected mayor ofShreveport, Louisiana :Cedric Glover * 2007:: First African-American woman and first woman elected mayor of
Baltimore, Maryland :Sheila Dixon :: First African-American elected mayor ofGreensboro, North Carolina :Yvonne Johnson :: First African-American elected mayor ofVallejo, California : Osby Davis:: First African-American elected mayor ofWichita, Kansas :Carl Brewer (politician) * 2008:: First African-American elected mayor of
Blue Springs, Missouri :Carson Ross :: First African-American elected mayor ofLancaster, Texas :Marcus Knight :: First African-American elected mayor ofMansfield, Ohio :Donald Culliver References
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