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contracting with openly discriminatory firms, were later passed. His next major controversy was to push for a formal investigation of the shooting of an
African American suspect while he was under police custody. The hearing was inconclusive, but opened the door to a more serious look at police procedure.
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His parents emphasized self-reliance, choosing to rent a home rather than stay in workers' housing and shopping at a black-owned cooperative store rather than accept credit at the company commissary. Richard's mother, Ernestine, kept the table filled with home-grown vegetables and made sure that her
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Arrington's father moved his family to the steel-town of
Fairfield, Alabama from rural Sumter County, Alabama when Richard Jr. was five years old to take a job with U.S. Steel. The steady work was an improvement over sharecropping, but Richard Sr. still had to supplement the family income by working
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Richard, while still a teenager, served as secretary of the Sunday School at
Crumbey Bethel Primitive Baptist Church. Soon he was Sunday School superintendent, a member of the choir, and eventually elected to the Board of Deacons. He was also a standout student at Fairfield Industrial High School,
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goals and to contract business to companies that hired minorities. With opposition in the business community, the latter action failed, but the departmental hiring ordinance made it out of council to be vetoed by
Siebels. Revised proposals that established recruitment programs and prohibited
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with the pledge to make
Birmingham "a city of which all her people can be proud." He placed third among 29 at-large candidates and faced five opponents in a runoff election for three remaining seats. He won his seat easily, becoming, after
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between
African-American protesters and city authorities in Birmingham. He earned his doctorate at Oklahoma in 1966, completing a dissertation on the "Comparative Morphology of Some Dryopoid Beetles", and, at the urging of President
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in 1968), the second
African American to serve on the council. After two years of quiet service, he introduced an ordinance requiring city departments to formulate hiring plans that included
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fraternity. He was also an officer in the Honor
Society and the Thespian Club. In his third year of college, while still living at home, he married Barbara Jean Watts. He graduated
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in
Detroit, Michigan. While there he first experienced an integrated social environment and gained the perspective necessary to effectively critique the established
379:, returned to Miles as acting dean and director of the summer school. He was quickly promoted to chair of the Natural Sciences Department and eventually was named
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of his home town. He earned a master's degree in 1957 and returned to Miles as an assistant professor of science where he taught for six years before entering the
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Arrington also co-founded and served as the first president of the
Alabama New South Coalition, a liberal advocacy organization which split off from the
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In 1979 Arrington became the first black mayor of the city. In 1992 he appointed the city's first black chief of police,
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Mark Kelly. "Toward a New Birmingham: A Four Part Series on the Life and Times of Richard Arrington Jr."
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at Miles and excelled in the classroom and as a leader, rising to the presidency of his chapter of the
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where he had first decided to study tailoring. With those classes full, he instead learned
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and, upon retiring after five terms in office, installed then-City Council president
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children made use of the opportunities given them through church and school.
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In 1971, Arrington began campaigning for election to the Birmingham
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as interim mayor. Bell went on to lose the next election to
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in 1955 and took a position as a graduate assistant at the
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Back to Birmingham: Richard Arrington Jr. and His Times
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400:(who had been appointed to a vacant seat by Mayor
442:Comparative morphology of some dryopoid beetles /
631:African-American city council members in Alabama
30:For the Mississippi Supreme Court justice, see
469:"Our Common Ground | Birmingham Museum of Art"
560:Oral History Interview with Richard Arrington
445:(Thesis thesis). The University of Oklahoma.
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531:. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press.
416:over strategic and leadership differences.
291:) was the first Black mayor of the city of
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117:Arrington (right) with Arizona politician
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661:20th-century African-American politicians
495:"Birmingham Has First Black Police Chief"
87:Learn how and when to remove this message
616:20th-century mayors of places in Alabama
50:This article includes a list of general
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475:from the original on February 3, 2023
173:Member of the Birmingham City Council
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564:Oral Histories of the American South
449:from the original on August 15, 2016
505:from the original on March 21, 2023
656:University of Detroit Mercy alumni
626:African-American mayors in Alabama
56:it lacks sufficient corresponding
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144:November 13, 1979 – 1999
549:. October 19 – November 10, 2005
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641:People from Livingston, Alabama
523:Franklin, Jimmie Lewis (1989).
223:Barbara Jean Watts (1954–1974)
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646:Mayors of Birmingham, Alabama
414:Alabama Democratic Conference
582:Mayor of Birmingham, Alabama
316:off-hours as a brick mason.
132:Mayor of Birmingham, Alabama
439:Arrington, Richard (1966).
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71:more precise citations.
32:Richard Olney Arrington
636:American entomologists
364:University of Oklahoma
264:University of Oklahoma
18:Richard Arrington, Jr.
356:University of Detroit
340:Arrington majored in
285:Richard Arrington Jr.
259:University of Detroit
105:Richard Arrington Jr.
27:American entomologist
651:Miles College alumni
471:. February 6, 2017.
366:doctoral program in
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372:Birmingham campaign
293:Birmingham, Alabama
289:Livingston, Alabama
242:Birmingham, Alabama
214:Livingston, Alabama
406:affirmative action
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589:Succeeded by
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501:. June 21, 1992.
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69:introducing
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575:David Vann
426:References
311:Early life
297:David Vann
271:Profession
249:Alma mater
204:1934-10-19
155:David Vann
77:April 2017
52:references
594:(interim)
509:March 22,
351:cum laude
238:Residence
220:Spouse(s)
184:1971–1979
180:In office
140:In office
503:Archived
499:LA Times
473:Archived
453:March 6,
447:Archived
230:Children
479:June 3,
368:zoology
342:biology
65:improve
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54:, but
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