Richard G. Hatcher

Richard G. Hatcher (b. July 10, 1933, Michigan City, Indiana) became the first African-American mayor of Gary, Indiana on January 1, 1968. He had won election the previous November as one of the first black mayors elected in a northern industrial city and the first in the state of Indiana.

Hatcher earned his B.S. from Indiana University in 1956 and his J.D. from Valparaiso University School of Law in 1959.

Hatcher was elected mayor of Gary in 1967 and served until 1987. During his tenure as mayor, he became internationally known as a fervent and prolific civil rights spokesman. He often delivered speeches alongside Martin Luther King, Robert F. Kennedy, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, and other historic proponents of the civil rights movement.

Richard G. Hatcher is currently a senior research professor and special assistant to the dean at Valparaiso University School of Law.

External links

* [http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/biography.asp?bioindex=376 Richard Hatcher biography at TheHistoryMakers.com]
* [http://www.iun.edu/~cra/newsletter/fall1997.shtml Richard Hatcher Collection]
* [http://GDYNets.WebNG.com Dave's Den contains a complete political hisory of Gary, Indiana]