Montgomery, Alabama Elects First Black Mayor

Montgomery, a former Confederate capital and epicenter of the civil rights movement, just elected its first Black mayor.

Montgomery, Alabama elected its first Black mayor.

The city reported on October 8 that probate judge Steven Reed captured 67% of the runoff election vote over his white opponent in a city that was the capital of the Confederate States of America in the mid-1800s.

“This election has never been about me; this election has never been about just my ideas,” he stated after his win. “It’s been about all of the hopes and dreams that we have as individuals and collectivity in this city.”

Reed, 45, was also the first Black probate judge in Montgomery County and is a graduate of historically Black college Morehouse.

“It’s certainly significant, given the history of Montgomery, given all that happened here,” he stated. “Montgomery has been a pilot for so many world-changing events, the bus boycott, so many other things that have happened here. And so being a part of that history is very heartfelt to me.”

The majority-Black city was one of the epicenters of the civil rights movement of the 1960s. It was home to Martin Luther King Jr.’s church, which birthed the Montgomery bus boycott and, in turn, the monumental action of Rosa Parks.

Many see Reed’s election as a turning point for the city to come to terms with its past. He will be sworn in on November 12.

“Let this go far beyond Montgomery, let it go beyond Alabama, and let it go far beyond this nation that we made a statement here tonight, and I thank all of you for being a part of that,” he said.