National Conference of Black Mayors

Last updated
National Conference of Black Mayors
AbbreviationThe NCBM
Formation1974
Dissolved2016
TypeNon-profit
Legal statusDefunct, succeeded by the Conference of Black Mayors and the African American Mayors Association
Region served
United States
Membership
650+ mayors, 32,000 global political leaders of color

The National Conference of Black Mayors (NCBM) was incorporated in 1974 and was originally organized as the Southern Conference of Black Mayors (SCBM) forty years ago. The thirteen mayors who founded the group were elected after the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and held its first meeting in Santee, South Carolina.

Contents

Three significant black mayors elected after the Civil and Voting Rights acts were: Carl Stokes of Cleveland, Ohio; Kenneth Gibson of Newark, New Jersey; and Richard G. Hatcher, of Gary, Indiana. [1] In 1973, Atlanta, Georgia, elected Maynard Jackson the first black mayor of a major southern U.S. city. [2] By 2005, nearly every large U.S. city had a black mayor within the previous 30 years. [2]

In April 1990, Unita Blackwell was elected the first woman president of the association. She was the first black woman mayor in Mississippi in 1976 when elected the mayor of Mayersville. [3] In November 2013, 138 black women were U.S. mayors. [4]

In later years, the NCBM suffered from financial difficulties, and filed for bankruptcy in early 2014 after the controversial tenure of Kevin Johnson, then mayor of Sacramento, as NCBM president. Johnson sought to make major changes at NCBM, then left the group along with a number of other mayors to form a new mayor's group, the African American Mayors Association (AAMA). [5] [6] By the end of 2016, the bankruptcy cases were decided and the AAMA purchased the NCBM's assets and naming rights. [7]

Notable members

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heather Fargo</span> American politician

Heather Fargo is an American politician who served as mayor and was a former City Council Member of Sacramento, California. She was sworn in as mayor in November 2000, replacing Jimmie R. Yee, and served until December 2008, when she was defeated for reelection by Kevin Johnson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackson, Mississippi</span> Capital of Mississippi, United States

Jackson is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Along with Raymond, Jackson is one of two county seats for Hinds County. The city had a population of 153,701 at the 2020 census, a significant decline from 173,514, or 11.42%, since the 2010 census, representing the largest decline in population during the decade of any major U.S. city. Jackson is the anchor for the Jackson metropolitan statistical area, the largest metropolitan area located entirely in the state and the tenth-largest urban area in the Deep South. With a 2020 population of nearly 600,000, metropolitan Jackson is home to over one-fifth of Mississippi's population. The city sits on the Pearl River and is located in the greater Jackson Prairie region of Mississippi. Jackson is the only city in Mississippi with a population exceeding 100,000 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Issaquena County, Mississippi</span> County in Mississippi, United States

Issaquena County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 Census, its population was 1,338, making it the least populous county in the United States east of the Mississippi River. Its county seat is Mayersville. With a per-capita income of $18,598, Issaquena County is, by that measure, one of the poorest counties in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayersville, Mississippi</span> Town in Mississippi, United States

Mayersville is a town on the east bank of the Mississippi River, and the county seat for Issaquena County, Mississippi, United States. It is located in the Mississippi Delta region, known for cotton cultivation in the antebellum era. Once the trading center for the county, the town was superseded when railroads were built into the area. The population of the majority-black town was 547 at the 2010 census, down from 795 at the 2000 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Johnson (basketball)</span> American basketball player and politician (born 1966)

Kevin Maurice Johnson is an American former professional basketball player and Democratic Party politician who served as the 55th mayor of Sacramento, California from 2008 to 2016. Elected in 2008 and re-elected in 2012, Johnson is the first African American to serve as mayor of Sacramento. Before entering politics, Johnson was a professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deep South</span> Cultural region of the United States

The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion of the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states which were most economically dependent on plantations and slavery. After the American Civil War ended in 1865, the region suffered economic hardship and was a major site of racial tension during and after the Reconstruction era. Before 1945, the Deep South was often referred to as the "Cotton States" since cotton was the primary cash crop for economic production. The civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s helped usher in a new era, sometimes referred to as the New South.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cory Booker</span> American politician (born 1969)

Cory Anthony Booker is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from New Jersey since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Booker is the first African-American U.S. senator from New Jersey. He was the 38th mayor of Newark from 2006 to 2013, and served on the Municipal Council of Newark for the Central Ward from 1998 to 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenneth A. Gibson</span> American politician (1932–2019)

Kenneth Allen Gibson was an American politician of the Democratic Party who was the 36th mayor of Newark, New Jersey from 1970 to 1986. He was the first ever African American mayor of a major city in the Northeastern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unita Blackwell</span> American civil rights activist (1933–2019)

Unita Zelma Blackwell was an American civil rights activist who was the first African-American woman to be elected mayor in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Blackwell was a project director for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and helped organize voter drives for African Americans across Mississippi. She was also a founder of the US–China Peoples Friendship Association, a group dedicated to promoting cultural exchange between the United States and China. She also served as an advisor to six US presidents: Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton.

In the United States, black conservatism is a political and social movement rooted in communities of African descent that aligns largely with the American conservative movement, including the Christian right. Black conservatism emphasizes social conservatism, traditionalism, patriotism, capitalism, and free markets. What characterizes a "black conservative" has changed over time, and proponents do not necessarily share the same political philosophy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 United States elections</span>

The 2016 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. Republican nominee Donald Trump defeated Democratic former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the presidential election, while Republicans retained control of Congress. This marked the first and most recent time Republicans won or held unified control of the presidency and Congress since 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chokwe Lumumba</span> American lawyer and politician

Chokwe Lumumba was an American attorney, activist, and politician, who was affiliated with the black separatist organization Republic of New Afrika and served as its second vice president. He served as a human rights lawyer in Michigan and Mississippi. In 2013, after serving on the City Council, he was elected as Mayor of Jackson, Mississippi.

Luis A. Quintana is an American politician who served as Councilmember-at-Large of the Municipal Council of Newark, New Jersey, first elected in 1994. He served as Mayor of Newark from November 2013 to July 2014, after which he was re-elected to his council seat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Newark mayoral election</span>

The 2014 Newark mayoral election took place in Newark, the most populous city in New Jersey, on May 13, 2014. The race was characterized as a contest between two candidates, Ras Baraka and Shavar Jeffries, both from Newark's South Ward. Elections for all seats on the nine member Municipal Council of Newark also took place. Luis A. Quintana, who had become Mayor of Newark following the resignation of Cory Booker, did not seek the seat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1964 United States presidential election in Mississippi</span> Election in Mississippi

The 1964 United States presidential election in Mississippi was held on November 3, 1964, as part of the 1964 United States presidential election, which was held on that day throughout all fifty states and the District of Columbia. Voters chose seven electors, or representatives to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2002 Newark mayoral election</span>

The 2002 election for Mayor of Newark took place in Newark, the most populous city in the state of New Jersey, on May 14, 2002. Elections for all seats on the nine-member Municipal Council of Newark were held the same day. A runoff election, if necessary, would have taken place. Elections in the city are non-partisan and candidates are not listed by political party. Incumbent Mayor and State Senator Sharpe James avoided a runoff and was re-elected to his fifth term in office. He was the first Newark mayor to be elected five times.

Minion Kenneth Chauncey Morrison is an American political scientist. He is a professor in the School of Public Policy and Administration at the University of Delaware. Morrison studies comparative politics and American politics, and has published books and articles on the Civil Rights Movement and its effects on the next several decades of American politics, including a biography of Mississippi NAACP leader Aaron Henry. He also specializes in the politics of Ghana.

References

  1. Overbea, Luix (August 23, 1982). "Black mayors are enthusiastic, but face special problems". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Newark in Context: Black Mayors". PBS.org. American Documentary. July 5, 2005. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  3. "Harvard University Institute of Politics: Unita Blackwell". Harvard.edu. Harvard IOP. 1991. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  4. O'Leary, Mary E. (November 8, 2013). "Up close and personal with New Haven's new leader". New Haven Register. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  5. "14 mayors threaten to sue Sacramento mayor, city", KCRA-TV, March 24, 2013.
  6. Anita Chabria, "New emails detail Kevin Johnson’s fight with national mayors’ group", Sacramento Bee , July 18, 2016.
  7. "K.J.’s shadow coup: Former Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson left office with a huge political victory so why haven’t you heard about it?", Sacramento News & Review , December 22, 2016.