Archer, Dennis W. (Dennis Wayne), 1942-

Dennis Wayne Archer (born January 1, 1942) is an American lawyer, jurist and former politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he notably served as the 67th Mayor of Detroit, Michigan, the second African American to serve in the office, from 1994 to 2001.

Born in Detroit, Michigan and raised there and in rural Cassopolis, Michigan, he graduated from Ross Beatty High School in Cassopolis before attending Wayne State University, the Detroit Institute of Technology, and Western Michigan University, earning a B.S. degree from the latter. He initially had planned to be a history teacher but later transferred to being a special education teacher at Ralph Bunche Elementary School, located just east of downtown Detroit. From 1965 to 1970, Archer taught disabled children in Detroit Public Schools. Archer earned a J.D. degree from the Detroit College of Law, now the College of Law of Michigan State University, in 1970. After earning his law degree, Archer began working for the law office of Gragg & Gardener, P.C. He left the firm in 1971 to help found Hall, Stone, Archer & Glenn. In 1983, Archer was named president of the National Bar Association. The following year, he was elected president of the State Bar of Michigan. In 1985, Archer was appointed by Governor James Blanchard to serve as an associate justice on the Michigan Supreme Court. He was elected to an eight-year term but resigned in 1990. In addition to practicing law in Detroit, Archer was an associate professor at the Detroit College of Law from 1972 to 1978 and an adjunct professor at Wayne State University Law School from 1984 to 1985.

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