# Richard Hatcher, One Of 1st Black Mayors Of Major City, Dead At 86



## Everything Zen (Dec 14, 2019)

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...indiana-one-1st-black-mayors-major-u-n1102311

Rest in Power ...

ec. 14, 2019, 2:56 PM CST
By The Associated Press






Former Gary Mayor Richard Hatcher, who became one of the first black mayors of a big U.S. city when he was elected in 1967, has died. He was 86.

Hatcher died Friday night at a Chicago hospital, said his daughter, Indiana state Rep. Ragen Hatcher, a Gary Democrat. She did not provide a cause of her father's death.


The Hatcher family said in a statement that “in the last days of his life, he was surrounded by his family and loved ones.”

“While deeply saddened by his passing, his family is very proud of the life he lived, including his many contributions to the cause of racial and economic justice and the more than 20 years of service he devoted to the city of Gary," the family added.

Hatcher had to overcome opposition from the local Democratic machine to become mayor of what was then Indiana's second-largest city in a surprise victory in 1967. He went on to serve five terms.

Hatcher became the political face of Gary and a political force for blacks after his groundbreaking election. He organized the 1972 National Black Political Convention in Gary and served as chairman of Jesse Jackson's Democratic presidential campaign in 1984 and vice chairman four years later.

But his mayorship was also marred by the steel city’s deterioration.

The election of Hatcher, then a 34-year-old activist, lawyer and City Council president, sparked high emotions in Gary. He defeated incumbent A. Martin Katz in the primary by more than 2,300 votes, prompting a celebration that forced police to shut down a six-block section of Broadway for four hours.

The celebration was short-lived. When Hatcher refused to allow Lake County Democratic leaders to pick the city's police chief, city attorney and fill other major positions in Hatcher's administration, party Chairman John Krupa told him the party wouldn't support Hatcher during the general election. Not only that, the party worked for his Republican opponent, Joseph Radigan.

Although Gary hadn’t had a Republican mayor since 1938, it was a difficult challenge for a campaign that had spent most of its money on the primary and now had no party to back it. Hatcher managed to raise $8,000 to run full-page campaign ads in The New York Times and the Post-Tribune in Gary. The ad read, "Richard Hatcher is battling bigotry and ignorance. And he needs your help.”

Those ads brought in more than $250,000, drew invitations to appear on TV and radio shows, and attracted the attention of Sen. Robert Kennedy, Vice President Hubert Humphrey and others who held fundraisers.

“It was unbelievable," Hatcher, who kept a framed copy of the ad on his office wall, said in a 2011 interview with The Associated Press. "We ended up having enough money to run a decent campaign."

He gave credit for his election to the city's black residents, who made up slightly more than half of Gary's population of about 175,000 residents in 1967 but trailed whites in the number of registered voters.

"There was a tremendous spirit in the city and the black community was very united," he said. "I think I received about 7% of the white vote. The other white candidates divided up the white vote, they really split it, which made it possible for me to win."


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## Laela (Dec 16, 2019)

May he Rest in Peace... I don't know about the climate in Gary today but 1967 was a promising and exciting time for blacks (esp with the Jackson 5 on the scene) and I love how he overcame racism, to win the election. His campaign was brilliant, and they don't make politicians like that anymore 

Note: I didn't know he had a glass eye


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## Laela (Dec 16, 2019)

*Services for former Gary Mayor Richard Hatcher scheduled for Saturday*

By MICHELLE L. QUINN
POST-TRIBUNE |
DEC 15, 2019 | 4:41 PM
Funeral services for former Gary Mayor Richard Hatcher are slated for Saturday at the Genesis Center.

The Hatcher family was finalizing details of the event Sunday night and planned to announce them on Monday, Hatcher’s daughter, Ragen, said.





Richard Gordon Hatcher (Provided by Hatcher family / Post-Tribune)

Hatcher, who was the city’s mayor for 20 years after winning a pivotal election not only for Gary, but for the United States, in November 1967, is considered, along with Carl Stokes, to be the first African-American mayor elected in a major U.S. city. Stokes was elected mayor of Cleveland on the same day.

Other celebrations of Hatcher’s life around the city were also in the works Sunday.

“We are contemplating a few ways to commemorate the mayor as well,” current Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson said. “We are also supporting the family in arrangements.”





Gary city building and grounds supervisor Cam Leggitt lowers the American flag to half-staff Sunday to honor the late 
Gary Mayor Richard Gordon Hatcher who died Friday. (Carole Carlson / Post-Tribune)

Hatcher died at 9:20 pm Friday at Mercy Hospital in Chicago, according to the family.

“In the last days of his life, he was surrounded by his family and loved ones. While deeply saddened by his passing, his family is very proud of the life he lived, including his many contributions to the cause of social justice and the more than 20 years of service he devoted to the city of Gary,” the family said through a statement.

Hatcher was 86.


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## Everything Zen (Dec 16, 2019)

Laela said:


> May he Rest in Peace... I don't know about the climate in Gary today but 1967 was a promising and exciting time for blacks (esp with the Jackson 5 on the scene) and I love how he overcame racism, to win the election. His campaign was brilliant, and they don't make politicians like that anymore
> 
> Note: I didn't know he had a glass eye



The current climate is just as bad as Flint. 
Side note- his daughter Ragen lives around the corner from my parent’s house and her schnauzer Scotty runs away and always somehow ends up at their house


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## Alta Angel (Dec 17, 2019)

I haven't been back home to Gary in about 10 years.  I miss what it used to be.  I grew up there in the 80's and I have many, many happy memories.


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