List of first African-American mayors

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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 majority white 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 whites 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 the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965, African Americans began to exercise more political power throughout the nation.

Contents
19th century: 1870s • 1880s • 1890s 20th century: 1900s • 1910s • 1920s • 1930s • 1940s • 1950s • 1960s • 1970s • 1980s • 1990s 21st century References

[edit] 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 of Gary, Indiana: Richard G. Hatcher

• 1968

First African-American elected mayor of a predominantly white southern city: Howard Nathaniel Lee, Chapel Hill, North Carolina^[1]

[edit] 1970s

• 1970

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

• 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.^[2]

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 of Detroit, Michigan: Coleman Young

• 1978

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

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

[edit] 1980s

• 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 Philadelphia, PA: Wilson Goode

• 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 of Seattle, Washington: Norm Rice

[edit] 1990s

• 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

• 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 of Rochester, New York: William A. Johnson, Jr.

• 1994

First African American elected mayor of Minneapolis, 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.

[edit] 2000s

• 2000

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

First African-American elected mayor of Selma, Alabama: James Perkins, Jr.

First African-American elected mayor of South Ogden, Utah and first African American mayor in Utah: 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^[3]

First African-American elected mayor of Southfield, Michigan: Brenda L. Lawrence, also Southfield's first woman mayor

2003

First African-American elected mayor of Greenville, Mississippi: Heather McTeer-Hudson, also the first women to be elected mayor of Greenville

• 2004

First African-American Elected mayor of Houston, Texas Lee P. Brown

• 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

• 2007

First African-American women elected mayor of Baltimore, Maryland: Sheila Dixon

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

First African-American elected mayor of Vallejo, California: Osby Davis

First African-American elected mayor of Wichita, Kansas: Carl Brewer (politician)

• 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