|
|
Article: Emanuel Cleaver: minister wins in Kansas City. (Newest Black Mayors)
- Article from:
- Ebony
- Article date:
- September 1, 1991
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1991 Johnson Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
AN HOUR before his inauguration as the first Black mayor of Kansas City, Mo., the Rev. Emanuel Cleaver visited the grave of Bruce Watkins, a brilliant Black leader who died of cancer at the age of 56, a year after losing a pioneering campaign for mayor.
It was a gesture to both the past and the future.
For Watkins' ill-fated 1979 mayoral candidacy paved the way for the future triumphs of both Cleaver and Rep. Alan Wheat, D-Mo., in the predominantly White city--Blacks constitute 13 percent of the population--of 435,000.
"Bruce would have made an excellent mayor," Cleaver reminisces. "I was his handpicked selection to run for his City Council ...