Carrie Saxon Perry (August 30, 1931 – November 22, 2018) was an American politician from Connecticut. She was notable as the first African American woman to be elected mayor of a major New England city –

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

– in 1987. She served three terms before being defeated in 1993. She served as a member of the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an ...

from 1980 until 1987. Perry was known for her distinctive broad-rimmed hats.

Early life and career

Perry was born on August 30, 1931 in Hartford to David Saxon and Mabel Lee. She was primarily raised by her grandmother after her father left the family when she was only six months old. She graduated from

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

with a degree of economics and attended

Howard University School of Law Howard University School of Law (Howard Law or HUSL) is the law school of Howard University, a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is one of the oldest law schools in the country and the oldes ...

for two years before leaving school to marry James Perry, Jr. After leaving law school, she worked with a number of community organizations and help establish boards for organizations such as

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

. She also worked for the state welfare agency.

Political career

Her first run for state representative ended in defeat in 1976. She was elected in 1980 and served until her election as mayor. She was selected as an assistant majority leader, chair of the bonding subcommittee, and a committee member for education, finance and housing. She became known for donning unique hats, of which she owned about two dozen. She said she started the habit because she didn't have time to take care of her hair.

Mayorship

Perry was elected the mayor of

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

at the age of 56. In 1987, Mayor Thirman L. Milner, the city’s first African American mayor, announced that he would not seek re-election to city hall. Perry entered the race and won the endorsement of the local Democratic Party. In the general election, she defeated Republican Philip Steele with 58 percent of the vote. She was credited for helping reduce racial tension in the city; notably, she visited black neighborhoods after the

Rodney King Rodney Glen King (April 2, 1965June 17, 2012) was an African American man who was a victim of police brutality. On March 3, 1991, he was beaten by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers during his arrest after a pursuit for driving whi ...

verdict, which was credited with preventing

rioting A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...

in Hartford as had happened in other large cities. She championed LGBT rights in Hartford during her mayorship, introducing legislation to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in Hartford schools, 5 years before such legislation was adopted in Connecticut. She also focused on reducing burgeoning gang activity and drug trafficking, which was on the rise at the time. The position in Hartford is considered largely ceremonial, and paid a stipend of $17,500. After three terms as mayor, she was defeated by first-time Democratic challenger Michael Peters, a city firefighter. He had run on a campaign capitalizing on Hartford's declining economy and a sense that street crime was on the rise.

Later career

In 2002, Perry became president of the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

(Hartford chapter).

Personal life

Perry married James Perry, Jr. from whom she was divorced. She had a son, four grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. Perry died in

Waterbury Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 202 ...

on November 22, 2018 at the age of 87. However, her death remained unreported until November 2019.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Carrie Saxon 1931 births 2018 deaths African-American people in Connecticut politics Connecticut Democrats Howard University alumni Mayors of Hartford, Connecticut Women mayors of places in Connecticut African-American mayors in Connecticut 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women 21st-century African-American women African-American women mayors