Richard Arrington was elected the first black Mayor of Birmingham on this date in 1979.
He's 90 years old now.
I was at his victory headquarters inside the old Parliament House Hotel the night he won, and the atmosphere was electric. It took a long time for his supporters to settle down so he could speak. Then, when he said plainly that the voters had for the first time selected a person of color as mayor....another huge round of cheers that delayed the rest of his victory speech.
I was a talk-radio host back then, and had no shortage of disagreements with Hizhonor.
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