Clifton Beverly Briley (January 11, 1914 – September 14, 1980) was an American attorney and politician, the first

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of the newly consolidated

metropolitan government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-l ...

of Nashville and Davidson County in Tennessee. Elected to the mayor's position in 1962 as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, Briley served three terms from 1963 to 1975; he was prevented by term limits from running again. He had previously served as county judge (chief executive) of Davidson County for several terms, from 1950 to 1963.

Early life

Briley was born in West Nashville, Tennessee in 1914. Attending local schools, he became involved in Scouting as a boy and attained the rank of

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle S ...

. He attended

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

before transferring to

Cumberland University Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee. It was founded in 1842. The campus's current historic buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896. History 1842-1861 The university was founded by the Cumberlan ...

's law school (now the

Cumberland Law School Cumberland School of Law is an ABA accredited law school at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It was founded in 1847 at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee and is the 11th oldest law school in the United States an ...

at Samford University), graduating in 1932. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1932.

Career

Briley began practicing in 1932. Briley served in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

as a quartermaster aboard the USS ''David Taylor''. After the war, he ran a successful campaign for county judge (chief executive) of Davidson County in 1950, serving until 1963. Briley was a champion of

and supported the merger of Nashville and Davidson County government. In 1963 he won election against Davidson County tax assessor

Clifford Allen Clifford Robertson Allen (January 6, 1912 – June 18, 1978) was a Tennessee attorney and Democratic politician. Early life and career Allen was born in Jacksonville, Florida, and graduated from Friends High School (now Sidwell Friends) in ...

, another longtime Nashville

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

, and became the first mayor of what is known as Metro Nashville. In 1966, his main opponent was Ben West, the former mayor of the earlier City of Nashville municipal government. Briley won the election in a

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock marke ...

. Briley was reelected in 1971, also in a runoff. He was prevented by term limits from running again in 1975. He remained active in Nashville politics until his death five years later. Altogether, he served as chief executive of Davidson County and of Nashville for 25 years. Briley took a fairly progressive position on the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...

, an important question for mayors of Southern cities at the time. He readily cooperated with

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

leaders and is generally credited with helping smooth the transition away from

racial segregation Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crimes against hum ...

in Nashville. Public schools and lunch counters had already been desegregated by the time he took office. In 1965, Briley described the Ku Klux Klan as "merchants of hate" and said they were "not welcome" in Nashville. On other issues, he was a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Democrat; in 1972 he was the area leader of " Democrats for Nixon," in an effort to strengthen southern support for Republican national candidates. That year,

Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

became the first Republican presidential candidate to carry Davidson County since the

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

era. Most Republicans had been disenfranchised in Tennessee and other Southern states as Southern Democrats passed new constitutions after the Civil War to suppress black voting by raising barriers to voter registration.

Personal life and death

Briley married Dorothy Gordon in 1934. They had two children together, Cliff and Diane. He was an alcoholic. His grandson

David Briley Clifton David Briley (born January 8, 1964) is an American politician. A Democrat, he was the eighth mayor of Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County. He was elected in 2015 as vice-mayor and was sworn in as acting mayor after Megan Barry's ...

was the Mayor of Nashville after the resignation of

Megan Barry Megan Christine Barry (née Mueller; born September 22, 1963) is an American businesswoman and politician who served as the seventh mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County from 2015 until March 6, 2018, when she resi ...

. Briley died of bladder cancer on September 14, 1980 at the

Vanderbilt University Hospital The Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is a medical provider with multiple hospitals in Nashville, Tennessee, as well as clinics and facilities throughout Middle Tennessee. VUMC is an independent non-profit organization, but maintains acad ...

in Nashville at the age of 66, just months after the death of his wife. His funeral was held at the Inglewood Baptist Church, and he was buried at Spring Hill Cemetery in Nashville.

Legacy and honors

Briley Parkway Briley may refer to: People * Alex Briley, member of Village People * Beverly Briley, American politician * Briley Brothers, American spree killers * David Briley (born 1964), American politician * Jonathan Briley, the 9/11 "Falling Man" * Martin ...

, a major

beltway A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...

thoroughfare which runs by the Grand Ole Opry House and around much of the city, was named in his honor. The city-owned Beverly Briley Building, a major component of Nashville's redesigned Public Square, was named for him. His grandson, Rob Briley, was a politician who formerly represented the 52nd House District, a Nashville district, in the state legislature. He also served as the Democratic Majority Floor Leader. Another grandson,

, served as mayor of Nashville.

References

External links

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City of Nashville {{DEFAULTSORT:Briley, Beverly 1914 births 1980 deaths Heads of county government in Tennessee Mayors of Nashville, Tennessee Tennessee Democrats 20th-century American politicians Deaths from cancer in Tennessee Deaths from bladder cancer Vanderbilt University alumni Cumberland School of Law alumni Tennessee lawyers 20th-century American lawyers