Parks, Lyman S. (Lyman Starling), 1917-2009
Rev. Lyman Starling Parks (March 12, 1917 – November 4, 2009) was an American pastor and politician. He served as the mayor of Grand Rapids, Michigan from 1971 to 1976, the first African-American to serve in the position.
Born in Princeton, Indiana and raised at Lyles Station, Indiana, Parks attended Indiana State Teachers College before graduating from Wilberforce University and Payne Theological Seminary in 1944. That same year, he began working as a minister at the Wayman Chapel African Methodist Episcopalian (AME) Church in Kokomo, Indiana. For the next twenty years, Parks served as a pastor in various churches in Indiana and Michigan. In 1966 Parks moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan to serve as a pastor at the First Community AME Church. In 1968, he ran to become the representative for the Third Ward on the Grand Rapids City Commission. He won the position by over a thousand votes, largely through the support of his congregation, and became the first black commissioner in the city’s history.
...
| Publication Date | Publishing Account | Status | Note | View |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2021-12-06 10:12:54 am |
Robert Kett |
published |
User published constellation |
|
2021-11-30 12:11:59 pm |
Robert Kett |
published |
User published constellation |
|
2016-08-11 01:08:52 am |
System Service |
published |
||
2016-08-11 01:08:52 am |
System Service |
ingest cpf |
Initial ingest from EAC-CPF |
|
