UF researcher: rise of black mayors ranks with civil rights movement

September 5, 2001

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The rise of black mayors ranks as important as the civil rights movement in fighting racial discrimination in American society, says a University of Florida researcher and author of a new book on the subject.

“Black mayors opened up the American political process in ways that nobody ever imagined, not only for black citizens but for other minorities as well,” said David Colburn, University of Florida provost, historian and co-author with UF history professor Jeffrey Adler of the new book “African American Mayors: Race, Politics and the American City,” (University of Illinois Press, 2001).

Once bastions of white leadership, cities across the country became governed by blacks strongly oriented to integrating police and municipal offices and carrying out policies aimed at helping the poor, Colburn said. Their success encouraged many other black candidates to seek mayoral office.

“Between 1973 and 1990, there was a huge increase in the election of black mayors from the smallest cities in the nation to the largest,” he said. “At one time or another, black mayors were elected to all of the largest cities in the U.S., from New York to Los Angeles and Atlanta to Seattle.”

The number of American black mayors grew from two in 1968 – Carl Stokes in Cleveland and Richard Hatcher in Gary, Ind. — to 48 in 1973 and 316 in 1990, Colburn said. Most were men. Only four of the 67 black mayors profiled in the book were women.

Evelyn Foxx, first vice president of the Alachua County NAACP, agrees that the rise of black mayors ranks with the civil rights movement. “I’m from a small town in Georgia that had at least three black mayors and it really helped African Americans in every respect,” she said.

The first black mayors were extremely well educated, Colburn said. All but one of those elected prior to 1976 – Detroit Mayor Coleman Young – were college graduates, and a large percentage had advanced degrees, often doctorates or law degrees, he said.

“In the early days of the post-civil rights movement, it really did take an extraordinary black candidate to get elected, and particularly to get any kind of white support,” he said. “By the ‘90s, there was much less pressure on black candidates to show they were better educated than their white opponents.”

Getting out a large black vote and attracting liberal white support was key to black mayors’ election, Colburn said. In predominantly white communities such as Dallas and Denver, it was important for blacks to portray themselves as mainstream candidates, he said.

This was not easy because some issues that appealed to black residents did not appeal to whites, Colburn said. For example, black community support for government spending to provide jobs faced opposition from whites who feared an increase in property taxes, he said.

One popular strategy of black candidates to turn out the white vote — first used by Willington Webb in Denver — was speaking to neighborhood residents in the homes of liberal whites who were sympathetic to civil rights changes, he said.

In cities with large Hispanic populations, black candidates followed the lead of Jesse Jackson in building a rainbow coalition and reached out for Hispanic support, he said.

Once in office, black mayors generally pushed very traditional political agendas that included sponsoring urban renewal projects, lowering the tax base to attract businesses and urging greater support for police departments to fight crime, he said.

“A key difference was that black mayors spoke out very strongly and forcefully for the needs of the downtrodden in the community,” Colburn said. “Interestingly, much of the strongest opposition they faced was from poor whites. But their proposals were aimed at helping all people, particularly the poor.”

Challenges black mayors face in the 21st century include meeting the needs of senior citizens as urban populations age and those of immigrants from far corners of the globe as cities become polyglots, he said.

“Despite the successes of black mayors throughout this period – 1968 to 1996 – we don’t see as many being elected today,” Colburn said, adding that some highly qualified candidates may be thriving in the new economy or fear being vilified if they run for public office.

Racial inequality “continues to hang over American society despite the gains and contributions of these black mayors,” he said. “What is needed is more leadership positions being held by black Americans. When that happens, race won’t stand out as an issue. We’ll just see the person, not the race or ethnicity.”