On This Day In Alabama History: Richard Arrington Jr. Was Born

Alabama News Center | October 19, 2017 @ 5:00 am

By Graydon Rust
Alabama 200

October 19, 1934

Richard Arrington Jr., the first African-American mayor of Birmingham, was born in Livingston. The longest serving mayor in Birmingham history, Arrington served five terms from 1979 to 1999 and worked to overcome the city’s economic dependence on the steel industry and its history of racial division. During his tenure, the city added a record number of new jobs, had the strongest tax base in Alabama, and integrated its payroll so that blacks held half of all positions. In 1992, the Justice Department charged Arrington with accepting a bribe for city construction but later dropped all charges.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.

Please visit Alabama News Center for the Full Article

Tags: ANC

Category: ALL POSTS, Partner News Stories

About the Author (Author Profile)

Alabama News Center tels the stories of the people and businesses powering the states of Alabama, striving to make Alabama a wonderful place to live and work.