Nineteen Fifty-Six Vol. 2 No. 5

outlaw discrimination in public places. Rapier and the
Republican party were successful in passing the bill after
he and the six other Black representatives recounted
their experiences with discrimination on The House
debate floor.
“Every day my life and property are exposed, are left to
the mercy of others, and will be so long as every hotelkeeper,
railroad conductor, and steamboat captain can
refuse me with impunity,” said Rapier from the US House
of Representatives archives.
The bill had little effect as the Republican party had
to amend it many times to make it acceptable to the
Democrats. Rapier still remains an important figure in
Alabama’s political history.
In a more local context, Black politicians in Alabama have
shown the importance of mayoral elections. These Black
political leaders struggled to gain mayoral power for
years because of discrimination and anti-Blackness that
prevented them from running for office. That is why it
was not until 1979 that Alabama had its first Black mayor.
Richard Arrington Jr. became the first Black mayor of the
city of Birmingham, Alabama. Arrington is an Alabama
native, born in Livingston, Alabama, and served for 20
years as mayor from 1979 to 1999. He spent his time in office
advocating against police brutality, expanding downtown
Birmingham, improving the city’s economy and lowering
the unemployment rate, instituting affirmative action in
the workplace and more, according to F. Erik Brooks and
Robert J. Robinson for the Encyclopedia of Alabama.
After Arrington, there have now been several other Black
mayors of Birmingham, including the city’s current
mayor, Randall Woodfin.
Woodfin, a Birmingham native, has served as mayor since
2017 and became the youngest mayor of the city in over 120
years at age 36. Woodfin’s administration said its focuses
are improving the 99 neighborhoods of Birmingham,
bettering education, building up the economy and more,
according to his plan to “put people first.”
While all these Black political figures have been Black
men, Black women are vital contributors to politics in
Alabama. The practices and injustices in place that made
it difficult for Black men to gain power in this state made
it even harder for Black women. However, Black women
in Alabama have still made political impact as school
board members, city council members, activists, lawyers,
community organizers and more.
Black female political figures in Alabama include women
like Dr. Sheila Nash-Stevenson, the first Black woman
in Alabama to earn a PhD in physics at Alabama A&M
University. Nash-Stevenson serves as a member of the
Madison school board in addition to being an engineer
with NASA at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville,
Alabama and many other professional achievements.
Another example of Black female leadership in Alabama
politics is Terri Sewell. She is the current representative
of Alabama’s 7th Congressional District since 2011 and
first Black woman to serve in the Alabama Congressional
delegation. Sewell’s prestigious law education and years
of political work have led her to create a distinguished
congressional career creating improvements in her
district, including Tuscaloosa county and Jefferson county.
Sewell is also a member of the Congressional Black Caucus
where she has worked to reform the criminal justice
system, improve health care by preventing racial health
disparities, expanding education and more. Her work in
honoring the civil rights freedom fighters involved in
historic Alabama events like the 16th Street Baptist
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