Dinkins, David N. (David Norman), 1927-2020

<p>Mayor David N. Dinkins (July 10, 1927 – November 23, 2020) joined Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs as a Professor in the Practice of Public Policy in 1994. He served on SIPA’s Advisory Board and hosted the annual David N. Dinkins Leadership & Public Policy Forum for more than two decades. The inaugural David N. Dinkins Professorship Chair in the Practice of Urban & Public Affairs at SIPA, Michael A Nutter, 98th Mayor of Philadelphia was selected in 2015. The same year also welcomed the opening of the David N. Dinkins Archives and Oral History Project at the Columbia University Libraries.</p>

<p>Mr. Dinkins began his public service career in 1966 as a member of the New York State Assembly. He was president of the New York City Board of Elections, and served as City Clerk for 10 years before his elections as President of the Borough of Manhattan in 1985 and 106th Mayor of the City of New York in 1989.</p>

<p>As Mayor, Dinkins was responsible for the establishment of numerous widely heralded cultural staples such as Fashion Week, Restaurant Week, and Broadway on Broadway. His administration initiated the revitalization of Times Square and secured an unprecedented deal to keep the U.S. Open Tennis Championships in New York for the next 99 years. This arrangement generated more annual financial benefits to the city than the Yankees, Mets, Knicks, and Rangers combined. Mayor Dinkins also instituted “Safe Streets, Safe City: Cops and Kids,” a comprehensive criminal justice plan that expanded opportunities for the children of New York and continued to reduce crime in the years that followed his term.</p>

<p>David Norman Dinkins was born on July 10, 1927, in Trenton, New Jersey. He was raised in Trenton until the Depression, when his family moved to Harlem. Dinkins served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. In 1950, he received his B.S. degree in mathematics from Howard University. Dinkins went on to graduate from Brooklyn Law School in 1956 with his LL.B. degree and then started a private law practice that he maintained until 1975.</p>

<p>Dinkins began his public service career in 1966 when he was elected to the New York State Assembly. He was president of the New York City Board of Elections, and served as City Clerk for ten years before his election as President of the Borough of Manhattan in 1985.</p>

<p>Dinkins was elected as the first African American Mayor of the City of New York in 1989. As Mayor, Dinkins initiated a program called “Safe Streets, Safe City: Cops and Kids,” reducing crime and expanding opportunities for New York’s children. He also established the Beacon community centers that offer New Yorkers a mix of social services ranging from recreation and job training in public schools after school hours. David Norman Dinkins was born on July 10, 1927, in Trenton, New Jersey. He was raised in Trenton until the Depression, when his family moved to Harlem. Dinkins served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. In 1950, he received his B.S. degree in mathematics from Howard University. Dinkins went on to graduate from Brooklyn Law School in 1956 with his LL.B. degree and then started a private law practice that he maintained until 1975.</p>

<p>Dinkins began his public service career in 1966 when he was elected to the New York State Assembly. He was president of the New York City Board of Elections, and served as City Clerk for ten years before his election as President of the Borough of Manhattan in 1985.</p>

<p>Dinkins was elected as the first African American Mayor of the City of New York in 1989. As Mayor, Dinkins initiated a program called “Safe Streets, Safe City: Cops and Kids,” reducing crime and expanding opportunities for New York’s children. He also established the Beacon community centers that offer New Yorkers a mix of social services ranging from recreation and job training in public schools after school hours.</p>

<p><b>RACES</b>
<ul>
<li> 11/02/1993 New York City Mayor Lost 47.98% (-2.92%)</li>
<li> 09/14/1993 NYC Mayor - D Primary Won 67.50% (+42.12%)</li>
<li> 11/07/1989 New York City Mayor Won 50.42% (+2.59%)</li>
<li> 09/12/1989 NYC Mayor - D Primary Won 50.71% (+8.48%)</li>
<li> 11/05/1985 Manhattan Borough President Won 77.47% (+65.69%)</li>
<li> 09/10/1985 Manhattan Borough President - D Primary Won 64.75% (+29.51%)</li>
<li> 11/03/1981 Manhattan Borough President Lost 33.28% (-25.72%)</li>
<li> 09/22/1981 Manhattan Borough President - D Primary Lost 46.78% (-6.45%)</li>
<li> 09/08/1977 Manhattan Borough President - D Primary Lost 16.23% (-20.21%)</li>
<li> 11/02/1965 NY Assembly 78 Won 54.19% (+25.84%)</li>
</ul>
</p>

<p>David Norman Dinkins (July 10, 1927 – November 23, 2020) was an American politician, lawyer, and author who served as the 106th Mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1993, becoming the first African American to hold the office.</p>

<p>Before entering politics, Dinkins was among the more than 20,000 Montford Point Marines, the first African-American U.S. Marines; he served from 1945 to 1946. He graduated cum laude from Howard University and received his law degree from Brooklyn Law School in 1956. A longtime member of Harlem's Carver Democratic Club, Dinkins began his electoral career by serving in the New York State Assembly in 1966, eventually advancing to Manhattan borough president before becoming mayor. After leaving office, Dinkins joined the faculty of Columbia University while remaining active as an éminence grise in municipal politics.</p>

<p>Dinkins was born in Trenton, New Jersey, the son of Sarah "Sally" Lucy and William Harvey Dinkins Jr. His mother was a domestic worker and his father a barber and real estate agent. He was raised by his father after his parents separated when he was six years old. Dinkins moved to Harlem as a child before returning to Trenton. He attended Trenton Central High School, where he graduated in 1945.</p>

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<p>David N. Dinkins is best known as the first and, so far, only black mayor of New York City. In November 1989, he defeated his challenger, former federal prosecutor Rudolph (Rudy) Giuliani, to become the first African American mayor of New York City. Giuliani. in a 1993 rematch, defeated Dinkins, thus limiting him to one four-year term in office.</p>

<p>David Norman Dinkins was born in Trenton, New Jersey in 1927. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the Marine Corps at eighteen and served in 1945 and 1946, after the end of World War II. After the war, he attended Howard University, graduating with a B.A. in mathematics in 1950. Dinkins moved to New York City and received a law degree from the Brooklyn Law School in 1956. Dinkins was a member of Sigma Pi Phi and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternities.</p>

<p>David Dinkins’s political career began when he joined the Carver Club headed by a charismatic politician, J. Raymond Jones, who was known as the Harlem Fox. Dinkins befriended three up-and-coming black New York politicians, Charles Rangel, Basil Paterson, Sr., and Percy Sutton. In 1965, Dinkins won his first electoral office, a seat in the New York State Assembly. Shortly afterwards Dinkins was offered the position of deputy mayor of New York by Mayor Abraham Beam. Dinkins was unable to accept the post after it was revealed that he had not paid income taxes for the previous four years.</p>