Black First of the Day
When and who was the first black mayor of Dallas elected?
- He was in private law practice from 1979 to 1981.
- In 1994 he had become the second black Texas secretary of state.
- He graduated from Austin College (B.A., 1976) and the University of Texas School of Law (J.D., 1979).
- In 2002, he went on to win the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate, the first black Texan to do so.
1995
Ron Kirk (1954-)
On May 6, 1995, Ron Kirk (1954-) won the Dallas mayoral race with 62 percent of the vote, becoming the first black mayor of a major Texas city. Kirk was born in Austin and graduated from Austin College (B.A., 1976) and the University of Texas School of Law (J.D., 1979). He was in private law practice from 1979 to 1981. From 1981 to 1983 he was legislative assistant in Washington, D.C., for Senator Lloyd Bentson. Kirk was assistant city attorney and chief lobbyist for the City of Dallas from 1983 to 1989. In 1994 he filled the unexpired term of Texas Secretary of State John Hannah, who resigned to become a federal judge. After becoming a partner in the law firm Gardere and Wynne, Kirk was elected mayor. In 2009 he was selected as U.S. trade representative by the Obama administration.
Sources: Ebony 50 (September 1995): 32-34; Contemporary Black Biography, vol. 11, pp. 148-51; Jet 88 (22 May 1995): 4-5.
From Black Firsts: 4,000 Ground-Breaking and Pioneering Events by Jessie Carney Smith, © 2013 Visible Ink Press®. A celebration of achievement, accomplishments and pride.
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