The first African-American mayors were elected during
Reconstruction in the Southern United States beginning about 1867. African Americans in the South were also elected to many local offices, such as
sheriff and
Justice of the Peace, and state offices such as legislatures as well as a smaller number of federal offices. After this period ended in 1876, it became increasingly difficult for African Americans to compete in elections due to
racial discrimination, such as
Jim Crow laws. After the end of the 19th century, it generally was not until the 1960s, following the
civil rights movement and passage of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 and
Voting Rights Act of 1965, that they again began to be elected or appointed to mayoral positions. 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.
In 1970, there were fewer than 50 African American mayors; by 1982, there were 205.[1][2]Lelia Foley was the first African American woman elected mayor in the United States.[3][4] In 1986, the first African-American women mayors were elected to major mid-size cities.[5]
First African American to be elected to the office of mayor in California and probably the first elected mayor in the Western United States:
Edward P. Duplex,
Wheatland, California[14][15]
First African American to be elected mayor of
Pocatello, Idaho and first African American to be elected mayor in the state of Idaho: Thomas L. Purce[47]
First African-American mayor of
Richmond, Virginia:
Henry L. Marsh[50] (Note: elected from within nine City Council members; changed to general election in 2003)
First African American to be appointed mayor of
Mount Pleasant, Tennessee and first African-American appointed mayor in the state of Tennessee: Willie B. Baker[61][62]
First African-American and first female mayor of
Lecompte, Louisiana: Rosa Mae Scott Jones
1999
First African-American mayor of
Pineville, Louisiana: Clarence R. Fields (became interim mayor in 1999; was elected to a partial term in 2000 and re-elected to full terms in 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014)
First African-American mayor of
Elyria, Ohio: Thomas O. Shores
First African American to be elected mayor of
Wyoming, Ohio: Thaddeus Hoffmeister
First African-American mayor of, and first mayor elected by popular vote in,
Camden, Arkansas: Julian Lott (also president of Arkansas Black Mayors Association 2020–present)
^Foner, Eric (1996). Freedom's Lawmakers: A Directory of Black Officeholders During Reconstruction (Revised ed.). Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. p. 235.
ISBN0-8071-2082-0.
^"The Saga of Chicago's Only Negro Town". The Pittsburgh Courier. October 15, 1938. ...according to state historians, acquired the unique distinction of being the only municipality of its kind in the so-called far north, being entirely governed by coloured officials.
^"List of Flint City Mayors". Political Graveyards.com. Lawrence (Larry) Kestenbaum. Retrieved February 9, 2009.
^Robinson, Veronica (September 4, 2009). "John Burton, One of the First African American Mayors in Michigan".
Ann Arbor District Library. ypsigleanings.aadl.org. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
^Brooke, James (June 18, 1984).
"Rev. Walter Taylor, ex-mayor in Jersey led drive for rights". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved October 6, 2017. The Rev. Walter Scott Taylor, a civil-rights leader and the first black mayor of Englewood, N.J., died of cancer Saturday at Englewood Hospital. He was 67 years old.
^Hollings, Ernest (April 14, 1983).
"Voting Rights Act Progress"(PDF). Congressional Record. pp. 8628–8629. Retrieved September 28, 2018. ... the Honorable Richmond Daniel Hill, mayor of Greenville, Ga., and, incidentally, the first elected black mayor of Georgia, will be honored upon his retirement from public life.
^Johnson, John H., ed. (June 21, 1973).
"City near Los Angeles elects woman as mayor". Jet. 45 (13). Chicago, Illinois: Johnson Publishing Company, Inc.: 17. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
^Dries, Bill (June 28, 2011).
"Patterson's Legacy In Local Politics Looms Large". Memphis Daily News. Patterson became mayor in 1982 because he was council chairman at the time and thus next in the line of succession in the city charter. The charter, which since has been changed, set a time limit on the council chairman's time in the office before the mayor's office passed to the city's chief administrative officer.
^Troyer, Eric (December 28, 1992).
"'Nice guy' moves into City Hall". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. p. A1. Retrieved December 4, 2018. In October, Hayes became the first black mayor of Fairbanks, winning a nearly uncontested election with more than 80 percent of the vote. He had token opposition from
write-in candidate Bill Preising.
^Donald Adderton (July 15, 2002).
"At the RNC with Party Chair Ed Gillespie". Press Register. Archived from
the original on September 23, 2014. Retrieved September 23, 2014. ...Brown is proud of being the first African-American female Republican to be elected mayor – not only in Mississippi, but also the United States – ...
The first African-American mayors were elected during
Reconstruction in the Southern United States beginning about 1867. African Americans in the South were also elected to many local offices, such as
sheriff and
Justice of the Peace, and state offices such as legislatures as well as a smaller number of federal offices. After this period ended in 1876, it became increasingly difficult for African Americans to compete in elections due to
racial discrimination, such as
Jim Crow laws. After the end of the 19th century, it generally was not until the 1960s, following the
civil rights movement and passage of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 and
Voting Rights Act of 1965, that they again began to be elected or appointed to mayoral positions. 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.
In 1970, there were fewer than 50 African American mayors; by 1982, there were 205.[1][2]Lelia Foley was the first African American woman elected mayor in the United States.[3][4] In 1986, the first African-American women mayors were elected to major mid-size cities.[5]
First African American to be elected to the office of mayor in California and probably the first elected mayor in the Western United States:
Edward P. Duplex,
Wheatland, California[14][15]
First African American to be elected mayor of
Pocatello, Idaho and first African American to be elected mayor in the state of Idaho: Thomas L. Purce[47]
First African-American mayor of
Richmond, Virginia:
Henry L. Marsh[50] (Note: elected from within nine City Council members; changed to general election in 2003)
First African American to be appointed mayor of
Mount Pleasant, Tennessee and first African-American appointed mayor in the state of Tennessee: Willie B. Baker[61][62]
First African-American and first female mayor of
Lecompte, Louisiana: Rosa Mae Scott Jones
1999
First African-American mayor of
Pineville, Louisiana: Clarence R. Fields (became interim mayor in 1999; was elected to a partial term in 2000 and re-elected to full terms in 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014)
First African-American mayor of
Elyria, Ohio: Thomas O. Shores
First African American to be elected mayor of
Wyoming, Ohio: Thaddeus Hoffmeister
First African-American mayor of, and first mayor elected by popular vote in,
Camden, Arkansas: Julian Lott (also president of Arkansas Black Mayors Association 2020–present)
^Foner, Eric (1996). Freedom's Lawmakers: A Directory of Black Officeholders During Reconstruction (Revised ed.). Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. p. 235.
ISBN0-8071-2082-0.
^"The Saga of Chicago's Only Negro Town". The Pittsburgh Courier. October 15, 1938. ...according to state historians, acquired the unique distinction of being the only municipality of its kind in the so-called far north, being entirely governed by coloured officials.
^"List of Flint City Mayors". Political Graveyards.com. Lawrence (Larry) Kestenbaum. Retrieved February 9, 2009.
^Robinson, Veronica (September 4, 2009). "John Burton, One of the First African American Mayors in Michigan".
Ann Arbor District Library. ypsigleanings.aadl.org. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
^Brooke, James (June 18, 1984).
"Rev. Walter Taylor, ex-mayor in Jersey led drive for rights". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved October 6, 2017. The Rev. Walter Scott Taylor, a civil-rights leader and the first black mayor of Englewood, N.J., died of cancer Saturday at Englewood Hospital. He was 67 years old.
^Hollings, Ernest (April 14, 1983).
"Voting Rights Act Progress"(PDF). Congressional Record. pp. 8628–8629. Retrieved September 28, 2018. ... the Honorable Richmond Daniel Hill, mayor of Greenville, Ga., and, incidentally, the first elected black mayor of Georgia, will be honored upon his retirement from public life.
^Johnson, John H., ed. (June 21, 1973).
"City near Los Angeles elects woman as mayor". Jet. 45 (13). Chicago, Illinois: Johnson Publishing Company, Inc.: 17. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
^Dries, Bill (June 28, 2011).
"Patterson's Legacy In Local Politics Looms Large". Memphis Daily News. Patterson became mayor in 1982 because he was council chairman at the time and thus next in the line of succession in the city charter. The charter, which since has been changed, set a time limit on the council chairman's time in the office before the mayor's office passed to the city's chief administrative officer.
^Troyer, Eric (December 28, 1992).
"'Nice guy' moves into City Hall". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. p. A1. Retrieved December 4, 2018. In October, Hayes became the first black mayor of Fairbanks, winning a nearly uncontested election with more than 80 percent of the vote. He had token opposition from
write-in candidate Bill Preising.
^Donald Adderton (July 15, 2002).
"At the RNC with Party Chair Ed Gillespie". Press Register. Archived from
the original on September 23, 2014. Retrieved September 23, 2014. ...Brown is proud of being the first African-American female Republican to be elected mayor – not only in Mississippi, but also the United States – ...