Mayor Roy B. Martin Jr | |
---|---|
161st Mayor of Norfolk, Virginia | |
In office 1962–1974 | |
Preceded by | W. Fred Duckworth |
Succeeded by | Irvine B. Hill |
31st President of the United States Conference of Mayors | |
In office 1973–1974 | |
Preceded by | Louie Welch |
Succeeded by | Joseph Alioto |
Norfolk City Councilor | |
In office 1953–1962 | |
Personal details | |
Born | May 13,1921 Norfolk,Virginia |
Died | May 20,2002 81) Norfolk,Virginia | (aged
Political party | Democratic Party |
Spouse | Louise Eggleston Martin |
Children | Son,Daughter |
Alma mater | University of Virginia College of William &Mary |
Military service | |
Branch/service | United States Navy |
Roy Martin was an American politician who served as mayor of Norfolk,Virginia from 1962 to 1974. A Democrat,he was renown for his support of racial integration and served as the 31st President of the United States Conference of Mayors from 1973 to 1974. [1]
Martin attended high school at Maury High School and graduated in 1939. Martin attended the Norfolk division of the College of William &Mary from 1939 to 1940,before it transitioned into Old Dominion University. He then attended the University of Virginia where he received a Bachelor's degree in commerce. [2] [3] After college Martin served in the Navy during World War II. Upon the conclusion of the war he returned to Norfolk to run a food brokerage business. [1] [3]
Martin was appointed to the city council by Mayor W. Fred Duckworth in 1953,becoming the city's youngest councilor. [1] [3] During his first year in office,there was talk among the city council to transition the Norfolk division of William and Mary into a four-year institution. However,despite support from Mayor Duckworth,the city council rejected the prospect due to fear that they would be left covering the cost of the institution without state funding. [2] [4] Nine years later in 1962,this proposed transition was revisited and passed with the division becoming the Old Dominion University.
In 1959,during the Massive resistance movement all white schools in the city where shut down to prevent racial integration. The city council then held a vote to additionally shut down all black schools,Martin was the sole dissenting vote on the city council voting to keep the schools open. [1] [2] [5] [4] [3]
Martin succeeded Duckworth as mayor in 1962. During his tenure he helped create the Chrysler Museum of Art and the MacArthur Memorial as well as green lighting the creation of a new arena and recreation development. [1] [4] [6] [7] Martin served as the 31st President of the United States Conference of Mayors from 1973 to 1974. [8] [3]
Martin retired from the mayoralty and the city council in 1974 upon the completion of his term as President of the United States Conference of Mayors. However,he remained active and participated in several local boards and was the city's goodwill ambassador. [1] He was also commander of the American Legion Post No. 300. [3]
Martin was married to Louise Eggleston Martin and the couple had a son and a daughter. Martin died in 2002 at the age of 81 after a battle with cancer. [1]
Norfolk is an independent city in Virginia,United States. As of the 2020 census,Norfolk had a population of 238,005,making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Beach and Chesapeake,and the 96th-most populous city in the nation. Norfolk holds a strategic position as the historical,urban,financial,and cultural center of the Hampton Roads region,which has more than 1.8 million inhabitants and is the 37th-largest metropolitan area in the U.S.,with ten cities.
Old Dominion University (ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk,Virginia. Established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William &Mary,it served as a two-year satellite campus for people with fewer financial assets in the Norfolk-Virginia Beach area of the Hampton Roads region. The Division became independent from William and Mary in 1962 and has since expanded into a residential college for traditional students and is one of the largest universities in Virginia with an enrollment of 23,494 students for the 2023 academic year. The university also enrolls over 600 international students from 99 countries. Its main campus covers 250 acres (1.0 km2) straddling the city neighborhoods of Larchmont,Highland Park,and Lambert's Point,approximately five miles (8.0 km) north of Downtown Norfolk along the Elizabeth River.
Massive resistance was a strategy declared by U.S. senator Harry F. Byrd Sr. of Virginia and his son Harry Jr.'s brother-in-law,James M. Thomson,who represented Alexandria in the Virginia General Assembly,to get the state's white politicians to pass laws and policies to prevent public school desegregation,particularly after Brown v. Board of Education.
Henry Evans Howell Jr.,nicknamed "Howlin' Henry" Howell,was an American lawyer and politician from the Commonwealth of Virginia. A progressive populist and a member of the Democratic Party,he served in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly,was elected the 31st Lieutenant Governor of Virginia as an Independent Democrat,and made several runs for governor.
Curtis West Harris was an African-American minister,civil rights activist,and politician in Virginia. He moved to Hopewell,Virginia with his family in 1928 where he grew into manhood. Harris married Ruth Jones of Hopewell on February 20,1946,and they had six children. His loving wife of 65 years,died on May 22,2011,and his son,Kenneth,died on March 2,2019. The "Harris Connection," as the family fondly calls itself,now includes Harris' five children---Curtis Jr.,Michael,Joanne,Karen,and Michelle,two daughters-in-law,a son-in-law,19 grandchildren,28 great grandchildren,and seven great-great grandchildren.
The Old Dominion Monarchs are composed of 18 intercollegiate athletic teams representing Old Dominion University,located in Norfolk,Virginia. Men's sports include baseball,basketball,football,golf,sailing,soccer,swimming,and tennis. Women's sports include basketball,field hockey,lacrosse,golf,sailing,soccer,swimming,tennis,rowing,and volleyball. The Monarchs compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and are members of the Sun Belt Conference (SBC);the university joined the conference on July 1,2022.
Matthew Fontaine Maury High School also known as Maury High School, is a high school located in the Ghent area of Norfolk,Virginia,United States. Maury's school mascot is the Commodore. The high school is named for Matthew Fontaine Maury. Maury High School has a Pre-Medical Health and Specialities Program for 9th-12th graders. It is the only school in the district to have this type of speciality program.
George William Whitehurst is an American retired journalist and politician from Virginia who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1987. He began his career as a professor at the Norfolk campus of the College of William and Mary,which became Old Dominion University in 1962. After serving as Dean of Students from 1963 to 1968,Whitehurst left academia for a nineteen-year stay in Congress. Upon retiring from politics,he returned to what was by then Old Dominion University,where he currently holds the chair of Kaufman Lecturer in Public Affairs.
Porter Hardy Jr. was a farmer,businessman and Democrat politician who represented Virginia's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives for more than two decades,including supporting the Byrd Organization during Massive Resistance.
Henry Leander Marsh III is an American civil rights lawyer and politician. A Democrat,Marsh was elected by the city council as the first African-American mayor of Richmond,Virginia in 1977. He was elected to the Senate of Virginia in 1991,and resigned from his seat in 2014. Marsh represented the 16th district,consisting of the city of Petersburg,Dinwiddie County,and parts of the city of Richmond,and Chesterfield and Prince George counties. Marsh is now a commissioner on the Virginia Department of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board,a position to which he received appointment from Governor Terry McAuliffe promptly after his departure from the Senate in 2014.
There are several professional minor-league sports teams as well as college sports teams in the Norfolk,Virginia area.
Ann Hitch Kilgore was a Virginia educator and politician. She served on the city council of Hampton,Virginia for more than two decades,and became the city's first female mayor,serving from 1963–71 and 1974–78.
The Old Dominion Monarchs football program represents Old Dominion University in U.S. college football. The first iteration of the team created in 1930 was known as the William &Mary Norfolk Division Braves. Founded in 2009,the current Monarchs team competed as an FCS independent for their first two seasons. In the 2011 season,they joined the Colonial Athletic Association and added conference games to their schedule,playing there until joining the Conference USA of the FBS in 2014. They joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2022.
Kenneth Cooper Alexander is an American politician currently serving as mayor of Norfolk,Virginia.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Norfolk,Virginia,United States.
Joseph A. Jordan Jr. was an African American lawyer and civil rights activist. He worked as a lawyer and judge and was part of the lawsuit heard before the Supreme Court of the United States that ended poll taxes.
The Norfolk State–Old Dominion rivalry refers to games between the Norfolk State Spartans of MEAC and the Old Dominion Monarchs of the Sun Belt Conference. The two schools are the only NCAA Division I schools in Norfolk,Virginia.
The Norfolk mayoral election of 2016 took place on May 3,2016. Voters elected the Mayor of Norfolk. It saw the election of Kenny Alexander.
Angelia Williams Graves is an American politician who has served as a Democratic member for the 21st district in the Virginia Senate since 2024. She previously represented 90th district in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2021 to 2024.
The Old Dominion–William &Mary rivalry refers to the U.S. college rivalry games between the Old Dominion Monarchs of the Sun Belt Conference and the William &Mary Tribe of the Coastal Athletic Association. They are the two largest and most historically tenured NCAA Division I rivals in Hampton Roads,Virginia.