Two Alabama mayors were recently featured in a national news story. NBC News Today Show featured Mayors Randall Woodfin and Steven Reed as two of seven African American mayors who have found they can lean on each other in unique times. Woodfin told Today’s Craig Melvin, “All of us are dealing with the trifecta of a global health pandemic, an economic crisis, and racial unrest. All three of those things combined requires a deep moral compass to make tough decisions.”
Along with Woodfin and Reed, Mayors Quinton Lucas of Kansas City, Missouri, Chokwe Lumumba of Jackson, Mississippi, Adrian Perkins of Shreveport, Louisiana, Frank Scott of Little Rock, Arkansas, and Levar Stoney of Richmond, Virginia were a part of the story. Each man has a unique story of what brought them into politics, but they are all able to connect on different levels and give each other advice on the extraordinary times they are leading.
Melvin asked the mayors how the being young Black men influenced how they govern their cities’ police departments. “It takes a balance, and I think what I’ve tried to do is have a compassion for our communities. Have a compassion for our residents,” Reed responded.
“You have to listen to all your constituents,” Woodfin said. “Because at the end of the day, although our job is mayor, the responsibility of public safety is ours. You have to listen to all your constituents,” Woodfin added. “Because at the end of the day, although our job is mayor, the responsibility of public safety is ours.”
Woodfin was an attorney before turning to politics. He became mayor of Birmingham in 2017. Born and raised in Birmingham, he attended Morehouse College and went on to earn his J.D. degree from the Samford University Cumberland School of Law.
Reed became the first African American mayor of Montgomery when he was sworn into office in 2019. Before he was mayor, he also worked as a financial analyst. In 2012 he was sworn in as a probate judge, the first African American in that position.
All seven men gathered via video remote from their offices. They all agree that the friendship and discussion have helped them all tremendously. “We don’t have to put up the proverbial face with each other,” Scott remarked. “And we can trust one another.”
