Il giudice Steven Reed è diventato sindaco della città del profondo Sud, culla del movimento per i diritti civili.
Steven Reed has been elected the 57th mayor of Montgomery, the capital of the US state of Alabama, becoming the first African American mayor in the town’s two hundred year history. Alabama, situated in the retrograde and conservative Deep South, is known for its stark contrasts. Historically it’s been the unfortunate stage of violent and discriminatory acts against citizens of African American descent carried out in the name of white supremacism.
Read more: Martin Luther King Jr., biography of the man who changed the civil rights movement forever
However, in the past few decades Montgomery has rapidly gained status as an important symbol in the fight against racism. It was here that in 1955 Rosa Parks was jailed for refusing to give up her seat to a white person on a local bus (as dictated by the laws of the time). Montgomery was also the celebrated arrival point of the march that started in Selma on 7 March 1965 that forever changed the course of the national civil rights movement.
Morehouse Man Steven Reed spoke to constituents after making history as the first African American to be elected as mayor of Montgomery, Ala. Here is a video from that talk: https://t.co/2yzpzvCJZy pic.twitter.com/JY1H8mQrDS
— Morehouse College (@Morehouse) October 9, 2019
Given the town’s importance within the civil rights movement and the fact that most of its population is African American, one might be surprised that it’s never had a black mayor before. Undoubtedly, Democrat Steven Reed’s election will make its mark on history. The judge, 55 years old, defeated opponent David Woods with 32,918 votes to 16,010.
In his victory speech, Reed declared that “this election has never been about just my ideas. It’s been about all the hopes and dreams we have as individuals and collectively in this city”. The newly elected mayor is certainly no stranger to breaking records. In 2012, he was the first African American to become Probate Judge for the Montgomery County. Three years later, he was the first Probate Judge to issue same-sex marriage licences in Alabama.
Many would say that the election of a black mayor in 2019 should be treated as a normal event that need not make the headlines as something remarkable. However, it can’t be forgotten that until very recently, Montgomery was one of the three cities in the Deep South with a population of over 100,000 people to have never had a black mayor. Thus, Reed’s election is a sign of genuine change, an accomplishment made possible by the many brave citizens who have campaigned and fought for equal civil rights over the past decades, costing them their freedom and lives in many cases.
It’s important to remember the people who made this day possible. The key role played by Martin Luther King Jr., emblem and leader of the fight against racial discrimination, almost goes without saying. Amongst the principal champions of the movement in Montgomery were Fred Gray, American activist and lawyer who dealt with many civil rights cases; Rufus Lewis, who according to Martin Luther King Jr. had “an inextinguishable passion for social justice”; Johnnie Carr, civil rights leader and president of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA); Jo Ann Robinson, teacher who led the Montgomery Bus Boycott in December 1995; and Clauedette Colvin, arrested at the young age of 15 for refusing to give up her seat to a white person, months prior to Rosa Parks’ comparable act of civil disobedience.
On 12 November, Reed will be sworn in as mayor in a part of the city only a few blocks away from the exact spot in which MLK gave his famous “How long, not long” speech in 1965. The speech informed the black community that obtaining equal civil rights was something that couldn’t be achieved instantly and required time. Reed has affirmed that he wants to be judged solely by his actions and not by the colour of his skin. Nevertheless, this historic moment represents a further step towards the change advocated and fought for by King at a time when African American citizens were denied even the right to vote.
Siamo anche su WhatsApp. Segui il canale ufficiale LifeGate per restare aggiornata, aggiornato sulle ultime notizie e sulle nostre attività.
Quest'opera è distribuita con Licenza Creative Commons Attribuzione - Non commerciale - Non opere derivate 4.0 Internazionale.
Joe Biden breaks ahead. Sanders falls but stays in the race. Bloomberg is hanging by a thread. Warren is invisible. The final results of Super Tuesday, a key day in the Democratic primaries to choose the candidate for the the US presidential elections.
“Local leaders have to ensure that changes happen. Every action a city takes for climate has an impact on the whole world”. We interviewed Ekrem İmamoğlu, Mayor of Istanbul, about mayors’ key role in tackling the global climate crisis.
A successful day for Greens and nationalists, while traditional parties suffer. The outcome? A European Parliament divided into homogeneous “slices”. The final results of the European elections 2019.
From 23 to 26 May voting will take place in the European Elections 2019. Who can vote, who the candidates are and how to vote to elect the 751 representatives at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
After a series of diplomatic assignments, including with the United Nations, Sahle-Work Zewde has become the first female president of Ethiopia.
The House goes to the Democrats, the Senate remains Republican. But the midterm election results are positive especially for women. How the vote for Congress and 36 governors went.
In the midterm elections of the 6th of November, in 36 out of 50 United States a new governor was chosen on top the members of Congress. Here are all the results of the gubernatorial races.
The results of the midterm elections 2018 in the United States: the Democrats win the majority of seats in the House of Representatives, whilst the Senate remains in Republican hands. Follow the results live.
A candidate in the US midterm elections in Texas, Beto O’Rourke came unexpectedly close to victory in a historically Republican state. And his popularity has touched the entire nation.
