Jacksonville's First Black Mayor

[manasia]

I know Alvin is the first black Mayor in Jacksonville, but isn't he the first black mayor in NE Florida period? And you may even can stretch that to central florida and panhandle (But this is a stretch).

I do not remember any black mayors from the surrounding counties, most of them are in South Florida.

[Jaxson]

Count Green Cove Springs as one of the NE FL cities that has already passed this milestone!

[Coolyfett]

John Marks was first in Tallyhoe

[duvaldude08]

I think orlando has too. If Im not mistaken

[Timkin]

I for one, could not be more thrilled.   Congratulations Mayor-Elect Alvin Brown!

[Keith-N-Jax]

Good luck to him. A big task has dropped at his feet.

[Beloki]

As a foreigner I am sometimes puzzled that this is a topic... I hope people voted for him because of his ideas/plans and what he stands for. Do people in 2011 still vote based on gender /ethnicity / sexual orientation? Isn't the USA supposed to be the big melting pot?

PS. Did anyone check his birth certificate? 

[Dog Walker]

As a foreigner I am sometimes puzzled that this is a topic... I hope people voted for him because of his ideas/plans and what he stands for. Do people in 2011 still vote based on gender /ethnicity / sexual orientation? Isn't the USA supposed to be the big melting pot?

PS. Did anyone check his birth certificate? 

Beloki,  I am sure that 99% of us who voted for Brown did so for the same reasons you did.  However we recognize that there are still people out there for whom gender/ethnicity/sexual orientation DO matter and are celebrating that there are obviously fewer and fewer of those people out there as evidenced that Brown won and Audry Moran made such a strong showing.

At least in this country we aren't killing each other over differences in language/religion/ethnicity as has happened several times in Europe in the past eighty years so don't be snide.

[Beloki]

At least in this country we aren't killing each other over differences in language/religion/ethnicity as has happened several times in Europe in the past eighty years so don't be snide.

I did not meant to be snide or smart nor did I ever claimed the above not to be true.. however female and or gay presidents are already very common and I can\t remember that being a headline in the newspaper. I just feel for the new mayor.. you win the election, months of hard work; you open the newspaper and the headlines only comment on the color of your skin.............

BTW; as a foreigner I am not allowed to vote... I do like politics and I do love the USA and Jacksonville ;-))

[ProjectMaximus]

Beloki,

As Dog Walker pointed out, I think this is being celebrated because it indicates we are moving in the right direction as a society. It's a FIRST so it is going to be a topic. Next time it happens it won't be a big deal.

btw, I didn't take your original post offensively. Seemed like you were just expressing sincere wonderment.

[hillary supporter]

Beloki,
Its so great you are here and you love Jacksonville!!!
My wife is a resident alien and was very skeptical of jax until recently.
Until yesterday. She does love our city.
Its (very) important that you state your views as you did so that we "locals" can look
at our city from a fresh (worldly) perspective.

[FayeforCure]

I think orlando has too. If Im not mistaken

Well Orlando has been way ahead of Jax, in that it had their first woman mayor TWO DECADES ago:

Glenda Hood

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

31st Mayor of Orlando
In office
1992â€"2003
Preceded by W. D. "Bill" Frederick, Jr.
Succeeded by Buddy Dyer

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Glenda Evans Hood (born March 10, 1950)[1] is a U.S. politician, who was Secretary of State of Florida, from 2003 to 2005, and the first woman to serve as Mayor of Orlando (1992-2003).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenda_Hood

[JeffreyS]

In terms of racism our civil rights movement was a watershed moment that most European countries have not had yet.  

[ChriswUfGator]

At least in this country we aren't killing each other over differences in language/religion/ethnicity as has happened several times in Europe in the past eighty years so don't be snide.

I did not meant to be snide or smart nor did I ever claimed the above not to be true.. however female and or gay presidents are already very common and I can\t remember that being a headline in the newspaper. I just feel for the new mayor.. you win the election, months of hard work; you open the newspaper and the headlines only comment on the color of your skin.............

BTW; as a foreigner I am not allowed to vote... I do like politics and I do love the USA and Jacksonville ;-))

I don't think anybody would deny that we are behind the times in the United States when it comes to gay rights, however I do think we have rounded the final corner some time ago on traditional racism. We have an african-american president, and, as the title of this thread indicates, Jacksonville just elected an african-american mayor. That would really seem to deflate the idea of there being some huge issue with racism.

For the record, many european countries who look down at the social climate in the U.S., like France as but one example, have equally large and diverse minority segments, yet while they view the US as a bunch of racist hicks, they have never themselves elected a minority pesident, as we have. It would seem to me, without having a dog in this fight, that these allegedly "enlightened" nations haven't made the strides we've made. Not that this apparently changes their perception of the U.S.

I think DogWalker was pointing out that there is a rather vast sea of contradictions between the typical european viewpoint on the treatment of minorities in the U.S., and the treatment of minorities in their own countries. As a side note, if we want to get technical, slavery in the United States ended 150 years ago, while slavery in europe only ended in 1945. I suppose we could also discuss the european treatment of gypsies, any gripe about racism in this country tends to pale in comparison to what's happening with that.

[FayeforCure]

At least in this country we aren't killing each other over differences in language/religion/ethnicity as has happened several times in Europe in the past eighty years so don't be snide.

I did not meant to be snide or smart nor did I ever claimed the above not to be true.. however female and or gay presidents are already very common and I can\t remember that being a headline in the newspaper.  

Yeah, I guess the US does it in reverse..........in the US we elect an african-american minority before electing a gay minority or a female majority, as is very common in European nations and around the world.

Brazil, Germany, India, Israel, the UK and many other nations have already had a female President. Even in Africa they are ahead on that front compared to the US!!!

PS I am very proud of Jax chosing to go a NEW direction!!!