Talk:Clarence Lightner

First?
The source I used for the opening sentence (New York Times) says Lightner was the first black mayor of a Southern city with a white majority. I assume they mean Atlanta's Maynard Jackson was voted in before Lightner making him the first black mayor of a Southern city, period. According to Jackson's WP article, he wasn't elected until 1974, the year after Lightner. Although PBS says Jackson was indeed the first black mayor of a Southern city, Raleigh's government website states that Lightner was the first. Anyone know which one was the actual first? I want to make sure to get the opening line correct and it's an important detail. AgnosticPreachersKid (talk) 12:38, 18 March 2008 (UTC)


 * Usually the election would be in the fall and people would take office in January, as Maynard Jackson did in Atlanta, and also the first black mayor of Detroit, who both were elected in the fall of 1973 and took office in Jan. 1974.

Raleigh's cycle seems to run oddly; the city site said Lightner was elected in Oct. 1973 and that he served through Oct. 1975. Usually the election cycles are for taking office in even years, so you may want to check - he may have started serving in Jan. 1974, and served through Jan.1, 1976, when the next mayor would have been sworn in. The only other thing I can think of was that it was a special election because someone died in office, but it's probably just the difference between election date and starting date. Still, you can probably go with Raleigh's material - the big cities probably overlooked its achievement.--Parkwells (talk) 12:54, 18 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Yeah, looking at the Raleigh mayor list, they appear to all be on odd numbered years. I'll remove the 'with a white majority' for now. If someone else has a source saying that Jackson was the definite first, then please add the phrase back. AgnosticPreachersKid (talk) 12:59, 18 March 2008 (UTC)


 * One of the articles said he was elected Oct. 1, 1973, which implies the election itself. Another hint is first "popularly elected". Maybe before this, mayors were elected from among the City Council - you'd have to look at form of gov't.  If Jackson and the mayor of Detroit were elected in normal cycles, they would have been elected in Nov. 1973, and started to serve in Jan. 1974.  So that makes Lightner the first of all!--Parkwells (talk) 13:08, 18 March 2008 (UTC)
 * If he was the first in the country, then that would definitely be important to mention. I just need to find a source to back it up. AgnosticPreachersKid (talk) 13:22, 18 March 2008 (UTC)


 * The first black mayors in the country were elected in 1967 in the north - Cleveland, OH and Gary, IN.--Parkwells (talk) 13:52, 18 March 2008 (UTC)

APK, you got a good tag team partner in Parkwells. He's done an awesome job on Mississippi. - ✰ ALLSTAR ✰ echo 13:59, 18 March 2008 (UTC)
 * I see that. He's a good Wikipedian. AgnosticPreachersKid (talk) 16:50, 18 March 2008 (UTC)

First ever, or first since reconstruction? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.63.86.153 (talk) 14:12, 23 March 2008 (UTC)
 * First ever. AgnosticPreachersKid (talk) 14:14, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

Historical perspective
I've added references to place this in historical perspective - Lightner came of age when most blacks were still disfranchised; he was of the first generation elected to office after the Voting Rights Act, but was already established as a leader in the community. It's important, because we forget so fast about where people have come from and where we've come from as a nation.--Parkwells (talk) 12:45, 18 March 2008 (UTC)


 * Have used material from this article to add back to the one on Raleigh - especially about early voter registration and strong black middle class in the city, plus Lightner being elected by white-majority city. Good to have a fuller picture!--Parkwells (talk) 13:49, 18 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks for adding it to the Raleigh article. I've been adding the history section the past 2 days and it needs more material like that because right now it sounds very time-liney. AgnosticPreachersKid (talk) 16:49, 18 March 2008 (UTC)

First popularly elected?
The article mentions in passing that he was the first "popularly elected" mayor of Raleigh -- it would be interesting to know how earlier mayors were selected (elected by the city council, maybe?). --Jfruh (talk) 14:50, 23 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Ok, let me see if I can find out. When I was writing the history section of Raleigh, I noticed that as well. It's kind of confusing. The sources I used had described the election in that manner, so that's why I used it. Thanks for pointing that out. AgnosticPreachersKid (talk) 15:00, 23 March 2008 (UTC)


 * One of the articles about his election said it was the first popular election for mayor since 1946, or something like that. They must have elected the mayor from within the City Council, but the city manager was the real head.--Parkwells (talk) 14:17, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

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External links modified
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Potential sources
-Indy beetle (talk) 08:14, 2 December 2018 (UTC)
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-Indy beetle (talk) 06:11, 3 December 2018 (UTC)
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-Indy beetle (talk) 20:57, 3 December 2018 (UTC)
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-Indy beetle (talk) 23:55, 5 December 2018 (UTC)
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-Indy beetle (talk) 03:01, 5 August 2019 (UTC)
 * Citizen Revolt Buries 'Old' Raleigh
 * The News and Observer Index : 1973