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In the 19th century in the American South during Reconstruction, African Americans began to be elected to many local offices, such as sheriff or Justice of the Peace, and some became the first African-American mayors of cities and towns. After this brief period, African Americans found themselves unable to obtain mayoral offices due to racial discrimination. In the 1960s, they again began to be elected or appointed to mayoral positions following the achievements of the civil rights movement and passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965. Achievements in African Americans' being elected mayor in majority-European American and other municipalities made their political participation one of daily life in many localities.

1860s

• 1868

First African American elected mayor of a U.S. town: Pierre Caliste Landry, Donaldsonville, Louisiana

• 1869

First African-American mayor of Maryville, Tennessee: W. B. Scott

1880s

• 1888

First African-American mayor of a predominately white U.S. town, and of a Western U.S. town: Edward Duplex, Wheatland, California

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 Stokes (Cleveland, Ohio)

First African American elected mayor of Gary, Indiana: Richard G. Hatcher

First African American appointed mayor of Washington, D.C.: Walter Washington (see also: 1975)

• 1968

First African American elected Mayor of Montclair, New Jersey: Matthew G. Carter

First African American mayor of a Kentucky city: Luska Twyman, Glasgow, Kentucky

First African American elected mayor of a predominantly white southern city: Howard Nathaniel Lee, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

• 1969

First African American elected mayor of a Mississippi city: Charles Evers, Fayette, Mississippi

1970s

• 1970

First African American elected mayor of Newark, New Jersey: Kenneth A. Gibson

First African American elected mayor of Dayton, Ohio: James H. McGee

First African American appointed mayor of Wichita, Kansas: A. Price Woodard

First African-American elected mayor of Salina, Kansas: Robert C. Caldwell

• 1971

First African American appointed mayor of Grand Rapids, Michigan: Lyman Parks (see also: 1973)

• 1972

First African-American mayor of Tallahassee, Florida: James R. Ford

First African-American mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio: Ted Berry

• 1973

First African American elected mayor of Detroit, Michigan: Coleman Young

First African American elected mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina: Clarence Lightner

First African American elected mayor of a major Southern city: Maynard Jackson, Atlanta, Georgia

First African American elected mayor of a major Western city: Tom Bradley, Los Angeles, California

First African American woman mayor of a major satellite city: Doris A. Davis, Compton, California

First African American elected mayor of Grand Rapids, Michigan: Lyman Parks (see also: 1971)

• 1975

First African American elected mayor, and first elected mayor, of Washington, D.C.: Walter Washington (see also: 1967)

• 1977

First African American mayor of Richmond, Virginia: Henry L. Marsh (Note: elected from within nine City Council members; changed to general election in 2003)

• 1978

First African American elected mayor of Oakland, California: Lionel Wilson

First African American elected mayor of New Orleans: Ernest Nathan Morial

• 1979

First African American elected mayor of Birmingham, Alabama: Richard Arrington, Jr.

1980s

• 1981

First African American elected Mayor of Camden, New Jersey: Randy Primas

First African American elected mayor of Spokane, Washington: James Everett Chase

• 1982

First African American appointed mayor of Memphis, Tennessee: J.O. Patterson, Jr.

• 1983

First African American elected Mayor of Chicago: Harold Washington

First African American elected mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina: Harvey Gantt

• 1984

First African American elected Mayor of Atlantic City, New Jersey: James L. Usry

First African American elected Mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Wilson Goode

First African American elected mayor of Portsmouth, Virginia: James W. Holley, III

• 1987

First African American appointed mayor of Baltimore, Maryland: Clarence H. Burns

• 1988

First African American elected mayor of Baltimore, Maryland: Kurt Schmoke

First African American elected mayor of Hempstead, New York: James A. Garner

• 1989

First African American elected mayor of New York, New York: David Dinkins

First African American elected mayor of New Haven, Connecticut: John C. Daniels

First African American elected mayor of Richmond, California: George Livingston

First African American elected mayor of Rockford, Illinois: Charles Box

First African American elected mayor of Seattle, Washington: Norm Rice

1990s

• 1990

First African American elected Mayor of Trenton, New Jersey: Douglas Palmer

First African American elected mayor of New Bern, North Carolina: Leander R. "Lee" Morgan

• 1991

First African American elected mayor of Memphis, Tennessee: W. W. Herenton

First African American elected mayor of Denver, Colorado: Wellington Webb

First African American elected mayor of Kansas City, Missouri: Emanuel Cleaver

First African American woman elected mayor of Washington, D.C.: Sharon Pratt Kelly

• 1993

First African American elected mayor of St. Louis, Missouri: Freeman Bosley, Jr.

First African American elected mayor of Rochester, New York: William A. Johnson, Jr.

• 1994

First African American and first woman elected mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota: Sharon Sayles Belton

• 1995

First African American elected mayor of Dallas, Texas: Ron Kirk

First African American elected mayor of Jeanerette, Louisiana:James "T.K." Alexander Sr.(mayor)

• 1996

First African American elected mayor of San Francisco, California: Willie Brown

• 1997

First African American elected mayor of Jackson, Mississippi: Harvey Johnson, Jr.

First African American elected mayor of Houston, Texas: Lee P. Brown

2000s

• 2000

First African American elected mayor of Columbus, Ohio: Michael B. Coleman

• 2001

First African-American elected Mayor of Hattiesburg, Mississippi: Johnny L. Dupree

First African-American woman mayor of major Southern city, and first woman to be elected mayor of Atlanta, Georgia: Shirley Franklin

First African American and first woman elected mayor of Southfield, Michigan: Brenda L. Lawrence

• 2002

First African-American woman elected mayor of Dayton, Ohio: Rhine McLin

First African-American elected mayor of Toledo, Ohio: Jack Ford

• 2003

First African-American elected mayor of Palm Springs, California: Ron Oden

First African American elected by citizens as mayor of Tallahassee, Florida: John Marks

First African-American elected mayor, and first elected mayor, of San Ramon, California: H. Abram Wilson

• 2004

First African American elected mayor of Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Kip Holden

First African American mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Marvin Pratt

First African American elected mayor of Pine Bluff, Arkansas: Carl A. Redus, Jr.

• 2005

First African American elected mayor of Buffalo, New York: Byron Brown

First African American elected mayor of Mobile, Alabama: Sam Jones

First African American elected mayor of Asheville, North Carolina: Terry Bellamy

First African American elected mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio: Mark Mallory

First African American elected mayor of Youngstown, Ohio: Jay Williams

• 2006

First African American elected mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana: Cedric Glover

First African American elected mayor of Anderson, South Carolina: Terence Roberts

• 2007

First African American woman and first woman elected mayor of Baltimore, Maryland: Sheila Dixon

First African American elected mayor of Greensboro, North Carolina: Yvonne Johnson

First African American elected mayor of Wichita, Kansas: Carl Brewer

First African American elected mayor of South Harrison Township, New Jersey: Charles Tyson

• 2008

First African American elected mayor of Blue Springs, Missouri: Carson Ross

First African American elected mayor of Lancaster, Texas: Marcus Knight

First African American elected mayor of Mansfield, Ohio: Donald Culliver

First African American elected mayor of Sacramento, California: Kevin Johnson

First African American mayor of Festus, Missouri: Earl Cook

• 2009

First African American elected mayor of Philadelphia, Mississippi: James Young

First African American elected mayor of Freeport, New York: Andrew Hardwick

First African American and first woman elected mayor of Saratoga Springs, Utah, and first African-American woman elected mayor in Utah: Mia Love

2010s

• 2010

First African-American and first African-American woman elected mayor of Fontana, California: Acquanetta Warren

• 2011

First African American elected mayor of Jacksonville, Florida: Alvin Brown

• 2012

First African-American Mayor of Ithaca, New York: Svante Myrick

First African-American Mayor of Antioch, California: Wade Harper

See also

• List of African-American firsts
• List of African-American U.S. state firsts
• List of African-American United States Cabinet Secretaries
• Timeline of the African-American Civil Rights Movement

References

1. Ron Stodghill, "Driving Back Into Louisiana’s History", The New York Times, 25 May 2008, accessed 7 Jul 2008
2. City of Maryville: "Maryville Historic Timeline"
3. "African American History American West Timeline", BlackPast.org, accessed 3 Aug 2008
4. Orel, Gwen (2012-03-22). "Matthew G. Carter, Montclair's first African American mayor, dies at 98". Montclair Times. NorthJersey.com. Retrieved 2012-03-31.
5. Howard N. Lee, North Carolina Utilities Commission, accessed 25 May 2008
6. Neil R. McMillen, Dark Journey: Black Mississippians in the Age of Jim Crow, Chicago: University of Illinois, 1990, p.26
7. " Previous Wichita Mayors 1950-1989" City of Wichita
8. "Robert C. Caldwell" at the University of Kansas Libraries Kenneth Spencer Research Library
9. Kestenbaum, Lawrence. "Mayors of Atlanta, Georgia". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
10. "Explorations in Black Leadership". University of Virginia Institute for Public History. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
11. O'Brien, Reity (2012-03-04). "Melvin R. "Randy" Primas Jr., Camden's first African American mayor, dies at 62". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
12. Jones, Carolyn (2012-01-11). "George Livingston, Richmond's 1st black elected mayor". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2012-01-20.
13. "Jet - Google Books". Books.google.com. 1990-02-19. Retrieved 2012-10-25.
14. McLaughlin, Lacey "Democrats: The Mayor or the Businessman?" Jackson Free Press July 13, 2011 Retrieved August 21, 2011
15. Fecht, Josh; Stevens, Andrew (2007-11-14). "Shirley Franklin: Mayor of Atlanta". City Mayors. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
16. ArkansasMatters.com: "Arkansas Mayoral Runoff Election Results", November 26, 2008
17. "Former South Harrison mayor who endured death threats steps down from council", Associated Press via NJ.com, November 10, 2009
18. Rubin, Ann (January 21, 2009). "Festus swears-in first African-American mayor". KSDK News.
19. Rivera, Laura (April 6, 2009). "300 watch as Andrew Hardwick sworn in as Freeport mayor". Newsday. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved 2009-11-4. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
20. "Meet Mia Love, Utah's First African-American Mayor". News One. November 6, 2009.
21. "Acquanetta Warren Becomes Fontana's First Black Mayor". Black Voice News. November 4, 2010.
22. "Alvin Brown makes history, becoming city's first African-American mayor", The Florida Times-Union, May 18, 2011
23. , "Contra Costa Times", December 26, 2012

• African-American history
• African-American mayors
• Lists of firsts
• Local government