Blackwell, First Black Republican Mayor, Dies

by Albert Milliron | December 17, 2008 at 01:51 pm

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The First Black Republican Mayor died last night following a long illness at 84. Robert Blackwell was Mayer of Highland Park, Michigan, Served Under Governor Romney, was also President of the Local UAW.

“This man was just fantastic,” said Juanita Parnell, Blackwell’s executive secretary who now is assistant to his son, Highland Park Emergency Financial Manager Arthur Blackwell.

Robert Blackwell was born in Meridian, Miss., and came to Highland Park in 1950 after graduating from Howard University in Washington with a degree in chemistry. He was a production planner for Chrysler and served three terms as president of his UAW local.

He entered the political arena as a Republican in the 1960s, and was appointed executive secretary of the state Labor Mediation Board by then-Gov. George Romney in 1963.

Other Black Republican's of Note (Click on Name for more Information)

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)Carter G. Woodson (1875 - 1950)

Frederick Douglass (1817 - 1895)

Mary McLeod Bethune (1875 - 1955)

Dr. Condoleezza Rice

Rod Paige

Clarence Thomas

Michael S. Steele

J. Kenneth Blackwell

J.C. Watts Jr

Denzel Washington

Jackie Robinson