A Mayor's Life: Governing New York's Gorgeous Mosaic is the autobiography of New York City's 106th mayor, David N. Dinkins, co-authored with Peter Knobler. Published in 2013 by PublicAffairs Books, the autobiography recounts the life and career of David Norman Dinkins, who defeated Ed Koch and Rudy Giuliani to become mayor of New York. [1] [2] The New York Times called it a "moving... inspiring account of New York's first black mayor." [3] Set against the backdrop of the rise of Harlem's influence on city politics, which produced several state and national black leaders and energized the base that ultimately led to the election of President Barack Obama, A Mayor's Life deals with Dinkins' childhood in Trenton, NJ, his service in the U.S. Marine Corps, his education at Howard University and Brooklyn Law School, [4] his political career beginning at the Carver Democratic Club and moving through jobs as City Clerk and Manhattan borough president to his election as mayor. [5] Dinkins discusses his administration's successes, including an historic decrease in the city's crime rate; [6] the cleanup of Times Square; the restoration of dilapidated housing in Northern Harlem, the South Bronx and Brooklyn; [7] the deal to keep the US Tennis Open in New York City, which Mayor Michael Bloomberg has called "the only good athletic sports stadium deal, not just in New York but in the country"; [8] and the hosting of Nelson Mandela on the South African diplomat's first international visit after being freed from prison. [9] He also discusses its difficulties.
Dinkins presents a detailed analysis of the Crown Heights riot in Brooklyn. He writes, “There was no order given, there was no unstated code, there was no tacit understanding, there was nothing anytime or anywhere that authorized the police not to do their jobs, to stand down, to allow the black community to attack Jews and create mayhem.”
The New York Times said, "Mr. Dinkins offers insights into his views on race, a subject that he typically skirted as the city’s first African-American mayor, and into how being black shaped his personality." [10] Dinkins accuses his Republican opponent, Rudy Giuliani, of running a racist campaign but says that was not the only reason for his 1993 re-election loss. [11]
“New York is not a melting pot,” Dinkins writes, “but a gorgeous mosaic… of race and religious faith, of national origin and sexual orientation – of individuals whose families arrived yesterday and generations ago, coming through Ellis Island, or Kennedy Airport, or on Greyhound buses bound for the Port Authority.”
Rudolph William Louis Giuliani is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 1983 and the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1983 to 1989.
The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.
David Norman Dinkins was an American politician, lawyer, and author who served as the 106th mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1993. He was the first African American to hold the office.
Clara Virginia Fields better known as C. Virginia Fields is an American activist who served as Borough President of Manhattan. She was elected in 1997 and reelected in 2001, with her second term expiring at the end of 2005.
Percy Ellis Sutton was an American political and business leader. An activist in the Civil Rights Movement and lawyer, he was also a Freedom Rider and the legal representative for Malcolm X. He was the highest-ranking African-American elected official in New York City when he was Manhattan borough president from 1966 to 1977, the longest tenure at that position. He later became an entrepreneur whose investments included the New York Amsterdam News and the Apollo Theater in Harlem.
Keith L. T. Wright is an American politician and a former member of the New York State Assembly. He was first elected to the assembly in 1992 and was re-elected eleven times. In early 2007, he proposed a bill limiting retail sale of violent video games for individuals below 18 years of age. This proposed law stirred up controversy and protest amongst gamer communities. Wright is also the author of the bill to apologize for African slavery in New York, which was second only to South Carolina in the American slave trade, the first Northern State make such an apology. Wright is also credited with coining the term "Super-Duper Tuesday" in response to the shifting of New York's election primary date to the 5th of February. This is now the common terminology for the change of dates nationwide.
Basil Alexander Paterson was an American labor lawyer and politician. He served in the New York State Senate from 1966 to 1971 and as secretary of state of New York under Governor Hugh Carey from 1979 to 1983. In 1970, Paterson was the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of New York on the Arthur Goldberg ticket. Paterson's son David served as governor from 2008 to 2011.
Herman Daniel “Denny” Farrell Jr. was an American politician from New York. He was a Democratic member of the New York State Assembly representing the Manhattan neighborhoods of West Harlem, Inwood and Washington Heights from 1975 to 2017.
Edward Richard Dudley was an American lawyer, judge, civil rights activist and the first African-American to hold the rank of Ambassador of the United States, as ambassador to Liberia from 1949 to 1953.
Rudy Giuliani served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from January 1, 1994 until December 31, 2001.
John Raymond Jones was the last Grand Sachem of Tammany Hall, a New York City Councilman for Harlem, a district leader, ran the Carver Democratic Club, and was Adam Clayton Powell's campaign manager in 1958, opposing Tammany Hall, and Carmine DeSapio.
The Gang of Four, also known as the Harlem Clubhouse, was an African-American political coalition from Harlem whose members later ascended to top political posts. It is named after the Gang of Four of China. J. Raymond Jones was influential in helping these men obtain power.
Prior to becoming Governor of New York, David Paterson served in the New York State Senate, eventually becoming Senate minority leader.
David Paterson has served in several elected positions, including the New York State Senate and as Lieutenant Governor of New York.
Peter Knobler is an American writer living in New York City. He has collaborated on fifteen books, ten of them best sellers and was the editor-in-chief of Crawdaddy magazine from 1972 to 1979.
The 1993 New York City mayoral election was held on Tuesday, November 2. Incumbent Mayor David Dinkins ran for re-election to a second term, but lost in a rematch with Republican Rudy Giuliani.
The Family Red Apple boycott, also known as the "Red Apple boycott", "Church Avenue boycott" or "Flatbush boycott", was the starting point of an eighteen-month series of boycotts targeting Korean-owned stores which The New York Times described as "racist and wrong." It began in January 1990 with a Korean-American-owned shop called Family Red Apple at 1823 Church Avenue in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn and extended to other stores, both within and beyond the original neighborhood.
The 1989 New York City mayoral election was held on Tuesday, November 7.
Fritz W. Alexander II was an American judge who served as an Associate Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1985 to 1992, and a deputy mayor of New York from 1992 to 1993. Alexander was the first black judge to serve a full term on the Court of Appeals. Fritz Alexander was a part of the Harlem Clubhouse headed by J. Raymond Jones
The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association Riot, also known as the City Hall Riot, was a rally organized and sponsored by the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association of the City of New York (PBA) held on September 16, 1992, to protest mayor David Dinkins' proposal to create a civilian agency to investigate police misconduct. Approximately 4,000 NYPD officers took part in a protest that included blocking traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge and jumping over police barricades in an attempt to rush City Hall. Rioters were observed to be openly drinking, damaging cars, and physically attacking journalists from the New York Times on the scene. Rioters also chanted racial epithets towards the African-American Mayor Dinkins. The nearly 300 uniformed on-duty officers did little to control the riot.