Nikuyah Walker was the mayor of Charlottesville, Virginia from 2018 to 2021. She became the city's first black female mayor in January 2018, after being elected to the Charlottesville City Council.

Personal life

Walker was born and raised in Charlottesville. She graduated from Charlottesville High School in 1998 and received her bachelor's degree in Political Science from

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virginia ...

in 2004. She has three children.

Career

2017 City Council Campaign

Walker began her campaign in March 2017. Her campaign gained traction after the

Unite the Right rally The Unite the Right rally was a white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11 to 12, 2017. Marchers included members of the alt-right, neo-Confederates, neo-fascists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, ...

in August 2017. Walker publicly pressured the City Council and then-mayor

Michael Signer Michael Signer is an American attorney, author, and politician who served as mayor of Charlottesville, Virginia. Early life and education Signer is the son of Marjorie B. Signer, a communications director, and Robert Signer, a newspaper assignm ...

to answer questions about why a permit had been issued for the rally, and why the City Council was not addressing issues raised by the event. Walker and Heather Hill were elected to the city council, winning 29% and 28% of the vote respectively.

Mayor of Charlottesville

Walker was the first Independent candidate to be elected to the City Council since the 1940s. One of Walker's major goals was to increase affordable housing in the city. Walker participated in The National Memorial for Peace and Justice to honor the memory of John Henry James, who was lynched just outside Charlottesville in 1898. In March of 2021, Walker began taking criticism of a Tweet published to both her Mayoral and personal

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and her

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pages stating "Charlottesville: The beautiful-ugly it is. It rapes you …"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Nikuyah Mayors of Charlottesville, Virginia Women mayors of places in Virginia Year of birth missing (living people) Living people African-American mayors in Virginia Virginia Commonwealth University alumni Virginia Independents African-American women mayors 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women