Walter Washington
Walter Edward Washington (born April 15, 1915 in Dawson , Georgia , † October 27, 2003 in Washington, DC ) was the first elected mayor of Washington, DC He was a member of the Democratic Party .
Youth and education
Washington, a descendant of African-American slaves, was born on April 15, 1915. Dawson, the son of a factory worker and a teacher and grew up in Jamestown ( New York on). He graduated from Howard University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Public Administration in 1938 . After studying law, he graduated in 1948 with a Bachelor of Laws .
Career
From 1941, before completing his studies, Washington worked for the Washington Alley Dwelling Authority , an agency charged with improving the housing situation in urban slums. In 1961 he was appointed head of the National Capital Housing Authority (NCHA) by President John F. Kennedy . From 1966 to 1967 he did the same job in New York City .
Political career
Since the American capital is under federal administration, it was administered from 1874 by a commission set up by Congress . In 1967 a law came into force that for the first time provided for the establishment of a city council and a mayor. Walter Washington was appointed acting mayor ( mayor-commissioner ) by President Johnson in 1967 . In 1969 and 1973 he was confirmed in office by President Richard Nixon . In 1973 a law was passed allowing Washington citizens to vote for their mayor. Walter Washington faced the election in 1974 and was able to prevail against Clifford Alexander . In 1975 he took office as the first elected mayor of Washington, DC, making him one of the first African-Americans to hold the office of mayor of a major American city. He ran again in 1978, but had to admit defeat to Marion Barry . At the end of Washington's tenure, the city had an annual surplus of about $ 40 million. After the failed re-election, Washington became a partner at the law firm Burns, Jackson, Miller & Summit and opened their office in the federal capital. At the end of the 1990s, he finally retired from professional life.
Private
Washington was married twice. His first wife, Benetta, with whom he had a daughter, died in 1991. In 1994 he married Mary Burke. He was a member of the African American Brotherhood Omega Psi Phi . He died on October 13, 2003 in Howard University Hospital. After his death, several streets and buildings were named after him. In 2003 the Washington Convention Center was renamed the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in his honor .
literature
- Jessie Carney Smith: Notable Black American Men , Gale Cengage 1998, ISBN 978-0-7876-0763-0 .
Web links
- Obituary in the US Mayor Newspaper (English)
- Articles about Walter Washington in the Washington Post (English)
- Biography of James M. Manheim (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ What is an Alley Dwelling? In: brynmawr.edu. Archived from the original on November 10, 2008 ; accessed on May 25, 2019 (English).
- ^ First Black DC Mayor Walter Washington Dies . In: John Johnson (Ed.): Jet . No. 104/20 . Johnson Publishing Company November 10, 2003, ISSN 0021-5996 , pp. 6 (American English, online [accessed June 18, 2009]).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Washington, Walter |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Washington, Walter Edward (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American politician, Mayor of Washington, DC |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 15, 1915 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Dawson , Georgia |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 27, 2003 |
| Place of death | Washington, DC |