List of first African-American mayors

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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^[1]

• 1869

First African-American mayor of Maryville, Tennessee: W. B. Scott^[2]

1880s

• 1888

First African-American mayor of a predominantly white U.S. town, and of a Western U.S. town: Edward Duplex, Wheatland, California^[3]

1960s

• 1966

First African-American mayor of a U.S. city: Robert C. Henry, Springfield, Ohio (appointed by city commission)

First African American elected mayor of a large U.S. city: Richard G. Hatcher (Gary, Indiana) (Hatcher was elected before Stokes but did not take office until after him)

• 1967

First African American mayor of a large U.S. city: Carl Stokes (Cleveland, Ohio)

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^[4]

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^[5]

• 1969

First African American elected mayor of a Mississippi city: Charles Evers, Fayette, Mississippi^[6]

1970s

• 1970

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

First African American elected mayor of East Orange, New Jersey: William Hart

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

First African American appointed mayor of Wichita, Kansas: A. Price Woodard^[7]

First African-American elected mayor of Salina, Kansas: Robert C. Caldwell^[8]

• 1971

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

First African American elected mayor of East St. Louis, Illinois: James Williams

• 1972

First African-American mayor of Tallahassee, Florida and first African American mayor of a state capital: 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: [9]

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)

First African American mayor of Santa Monica, California: Nat Trives

• 1977

First African American mayor of Richmond, Virginia: Henry L. Marsh^[10] (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^[11]

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

First African American elected Mayor of Flint: James Sharp

• 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

First African American elected mayor of Hurtsboro, Alabama: Mary Kate Stovall

• 1987

First African American woman elected mayor of a Major City Hartford, Connecticut: Carrie Saxon Perry

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 [12]

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

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

First African American succeeds to the office of mayor of Minden, Louisiana, via recall of his predecessor: Robert T. Tobin

1990s

• 1990

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

First African American elected mayor of [13]

First African American elected Mayor of Seattle, Washington: Norm Rice ^[14]

• 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

First African American elected mayor of Monroe, Louisiana: Abe E. Pierce, III

• 1997

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

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

• 1999

First and current African American mayor of Pineville, Louisiana: Clarence R. Fields (became interim mayor late in 1999 and was elected to a partial term in 2000 and reelected to full terms in 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014

2000s

• 2000

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

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

• 2001

First African-American elected Mayor of Hattiesburg, Mississippi: Johnny DuPree^[15]

First African-American woman mayor of major Southern city, and first woman to be elected mayor of Shirley Franklin^[16]

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

First African American elected Mayor of Heidelberg, Mississippi: Juan Barnett

First African American elected Mayor of Fayetteville, North Carolina: Marshall Pitts Jr.^[17]

First African American elected Mayor of Tchula, Mississippi who was a woman and a Republican: Yvonne Brown^[18]

• 2002

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

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

First African-American elected mayor of Kenneth E. Smith, Sr. (politician)

• 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.^[19]

• 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^[20]

• 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^[21]

First African-American elected Mayor of Damascus, Georgia : Vivian Pounder

• 2009

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

First African American elected mayor of Freeport, New York: Andrew Hardwick^[22]

First African American and first woman elected mayor of Saratoga Springs, Utah, and first African-American woman elected mayor in Utah: Mia Love^[23]

First African American and First African American Female Elected Mayor of Brentwood, MD Xzavier Montgomery-Wright http://ww2.gazette.net/stories/02182010/collnew181053_32549.php

2010s

• 2010

First African-American and first African-American woman elected mayor of Fontana, California: Acquanetta Warren ^[24]

First African American elected mayor of Columbia, South Carolina: Stephen K. Benjamin

• 2011

First African American elected mayor of Jacksonville, Florida: Alvin Brown^[25]

• 2012

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

First African-American Mayor of Antioch, California: Wade Harper^[26]

First African-American Mayor of Garland, North Carolina: Winifred Hill Murphy

First African American and first woman mayor of Orrville, Alabama: Louvenia Diane Lumpkin

• 2014

First African-American Mayor of Cornell Harvey

First African-American and first African-American woman mayor of San Antonio, TX: Ivy Taylor^[27]

First African-American Mayor of Purcellville, Virginia: Kwasi Fraser

First African-American woman elected mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana: Ollie Tyler

First African-American Mayor of (Adairsville ,Georgia) Kenneth J. Carson Sr.

• 2015

First African-American and first African-American woman elected mayor of Pearsall, Texas: Mary Moore ^[28]

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