James Young (Mayor)
James A. Young (born 1955 or 1956 in the United States ) is an American politician who became the first African American mayor of the city of Philadelphia in Neshoba County in the state of Mississippi in 2009 .
Life
Young was elected mayor of the predominantly white American community in May 2009, aged 53. He was elected as a representative of the Democrats by a primary election as an opponent of the then incumbent Rayburn Wadell, who has already been elected mayor three times . Since the Republicans did not nominate a candidate, he was elected. He took office on July 3, 2009 and still holds it today (2015).
Young's election in 2009 was special not only because of the race of the winner, but also because in 1964 three civil rights activists were murdered by white citizens near the city . That case, the Mississippi civil rights activist murders , was only atone for short prison terms in court in 1967. The leader of the members of the Ku Klux Klan , Edgar Ray Killen, was sentenced to 60 years in prison only in 2005.
Young is a Pentecostal minister and is married. He was a Neshoba County clerk prior to his election. The couple have a daughter.
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Young, James |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Young, James A. |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1955 or 1956 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | United States |