Don L. Crawford

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Don L. Crawford was an American politician of the Democratic party, who was the first African-American person to serve as a city commissioner of Dayton, Ohio. [1] [2] He served on the commission from 1962 [3] to 1967. [4] While presenting a key to the city to Martin Luther King Jr. in 1964, Crawford remarked that the key would not actually open many parts of the city to him, angering the other city commissioners. [5]

Wright State University, which holds his papers, called him, "one of Dayton’s best-known African American leaders of the 1960s-1980s." [6] A park and Don Crawford Plaza are named after him. [7]

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References

  1. "Negro Sets Pace". The New York Times . November 4, 1965. Retrieved 19 June 2011. Dayton's first Negro commissioner, Don L. Crawford, won re-election but ran second to a fellow commissioner. David L. Hall
  2. "Dayton Official Speaks Up On Police Brutality". Jet . December 6, 1962. p. 10. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
  3. Kline, Benjamin (March 30, 1992). "Witness to History". Dayton Daily News . p. 3B. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
  4. Williamson, Daniel Raymond (1975). Feature writing for newspapers. Hastings House. ISBN   978-0-8038-2312-9 . Retrieved 19 June 2011.
  5. Perry, Ravi K. (2014). Black Mayors, White Majorities: The Balancing Act of Racial Politics. University of Nebraska Press. pp. 75–82. ISBN   9780803249462.
  6. "Don L. Crawford Papers" (PDF). Wright State University.
  7. "Notable Kentucky African Americans Database". University of Kentucky. Retrieved 4 February 2019.