David Dinkins

David Norman Dinkins (born July 10, 1927) is an American politician, lawyer, and author who served as the 106th Mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1993. He was the first and, to date, only African American to hold that office.

David Dinkins
Dinkins in 2007
106th Mayor of New York City
In office
January 1, 1990 – December 31, 1993
Preceded byEd Koch
Succeeded byRudy Giuliani
23rd Borough President of Manhattan
In office
January 1, 1986 – December 31, 1989
Preceded byAndrew Stein
Succeeded byRuth Messinger
Member of the New York Assembly
from the 78th district
In office
1966–1966
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byEdward A. Stevenson Sr.
Personal details
Born
David Norman Dinkins

(1927-07-10) July 10, 1927
Trenton, New Jersey, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Joyce Burrows
EducationHoward University (BS)
Brooklyn Law School (LLB)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Marine Corps
Years of service1945–1946

Before entering politics, Dinkins was among the more than 20,000 Montford Point Marines, the first African-American U.S. Marines (trained 1942–1949; Dinkins' service was 1945–1946); he graduated cum laude from Howard University;[1] and he received his law degree from Brooklyn Law School (1956).

Dinkins began his political career by serving in the State Assembly (1966), eventually advancing to Manhattan borough president[2] before becoming mayor. Under the Dinkins administration, crime in New York City decreased more dramatically and more rapidly than at any time in previous New York City history.[3]

After leaving office, Dinkins joined the faculty of Columbia University. Dinkins was a member of the board of directors of the United States Tennis Association and a member of the Jazz Foundation of America. He serves on the boards of the New York City Global Partners, the Children's Health Fund, the Association to Benefit Children and the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund. Dinkins is also on the advisory board of Independent News & Media and the Black Leadership Forum, is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is chairman emeritus of the board of directors of the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS.[4]

Early life and education

Dinkins was born in Trenton, New Jersey, the son of Sarah "Sally" Lucy and William Harvey Dinkins Jr.[5] His mother was a domestic worker and his father a barber and real estate agent.[1] He was raised by his father after his parents separated when he was six years old.[6] Dinkins moved to Harlem as a child before returning to Trenton. He attended Trenton Central High School, where he graduated in 1945 in the top 10 percent of his class. Upon graduating, Dinkins attempted to enlist in the United States Marine Corps but was told that a racial quota had been filled. After traveling the Northeastern United States, he finally found a recruiting station that had not, in his words, "filled their quota for Negro Marines"; however, World War II was over before Dinkins finished boot camp.[7] He served in the Marine Corps from July 1945 through August 1946, attaining the rank of private first class.[8][9][10] Dinkins was among the Montford Point Marines awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by the United States Senate and House of Representatives.[7]

Dinkins graduated cum laude from Howard University[1] with a degree in mathematics in 1950. He received his LL.B. from Brooklyn Law School in 1956.[10][11]

Political career

While maintaining a private law practice from 1956 to 1975, Dinkins rose through the Democratic Party organization in Harlem, beginning at the Carver Democratic Club under the aegis of J. Raymond Jones.[1][12] He became part of an influential group of African American politicians that included Denny Farrell, Percy Sutton, Basil Paterson, and Charles Rangel; the latter three together with Dinkins were known as the "Gang of Four".[13] As an investor, Dinkins was one of fifty African American investors who helped Percy Sutton found Inner City Broadcasting Corporation in 1971.

Dinkins briefly served as a member of the New York State Assembly (78th D.) in 1966. He was nominated as a Deputy Mayor by Mayor Abraham D. Beame but was ultimately not appointed. Thereafter, Dinkins served as president of the New York City Board of Elections (1972–1973) and as New York City Clerk (1975–1985).[14] He was elected Manhattan borough president in 1985 on his third run for that office. On November 7, 1989, Dinkins was elected mayor of New York City, defeating three-term incumbent mayor Ed Koch and two others in the Democratic primary and Republican nominee Rudy Giuliani in the general election. Dinkins came to visit the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, seeking his blessing and endorsement.[15]

Dinkins was elected in the wake of a corruption scandal that involved several New York City Democratic leaders. Mayor Koch, the presumptive Democratic nominee, was politically damaged by the corruption in his administration and his handling of racial issues, and among the candidates Dinkins was his greatest challenger.[16] Additionally, the fact that Dinkins is African American helped him to avoid criticism that he was ignoring the black vote by campaigning to whites.[17] While a large turnout of African American voters was important to his election, Dinkins campaigned throughout the city.[1] Dinkins' campaign manager was political consultant William Lynch Jr., who became one of his First Deputy Mayors.

Mayoralty

Dinkins entered office in January 1990 pledging racial healing, and famously referred to New York City's demographic diversity as a "gorgeous mosaic".[18] The rates of most crimes, including all categories of violent crime, made consecutive declines during the last 36 months of his four-year term, ending a 30-year upward spiral and initiating a trend of falling rates that continued beyond his term.[19][3] Despite the declines, Dinkins was hurt by the perception that crime was out of control during his administration.[20][21] Dinkins also initiated a hiring program that expanded the police department nearly 25%. The New York Times reported, "He obtained the State Legislature's permission to dedicate a tax to hire thousands of police officers, and he fought to preserve a portion of that anticrime money to keep schools open into the evening, an award-winning initiative that kept tens of thousands of teenagers off the street."[21][22]

During his final days in office, Dinkins made last-minute negotiations with the sanitation workers, presumably to preserve the public status of garbage removal. Rudy Giuliani, who defeated Dinkins in the 1993 mayoral race, blamed Dinkins for a "cheap political trick" when Dinkins planned the resignation of Victor Gotbaum, Dinkins' appointee on the board of education, thus guaranteeing Gotbaum's replacement six months in office.[23] Dinkins also signed a last-minute 99-year lease with the USTA National Tennis Center. By negotiating a fee for New York City based on the event's gross income, the Dinkins administration made a deal with the US Open that brings more economic benefit to the City of New York each year than the New York Yankees, New York Mets, New York Knicks and New York Rangers combined.[1] The city's revenue-producing events Fashion Week, Restaurant Week and Broadway on Broadway were all created under Dinkins.

Dinkins's term was marked by polarizing events such as the Family Red Apple boycott, a boycott of a Korean-owned grocery in Flatbush, Brooklyn, and the 1991 Crown Heights riot. When Lemrick Nelson was acquitted of murdering Yankel Rosenbaum during the Crown Heights riots, Dinkins said, "I have no doubt that in this case the criminal-justice system has operated fairly and openly."[24] Later he wrote in his memoirs, "I continue to fail to understand that verdict."[1]

Visit to Israel

In 1991, when "Iraqi Scud missiles were falling" in Israel[25] and the Mayor's press secretary said "security would be tight and gas masks would be provided for the contingent",[26] Mayor Dinkins visited Israel as a sign of support.

Dinkins, as part of his "visit to Scud-scarred Israel, prayed for peace at the Western Wall Monday, thanked U.S. soldiers manning Patriot anti-missile batteries and gave out Barbie dolls to Ethiopian kids.",[27] some of whom "arrived three weeks ago from Ethiopia." He also "met with Tel Aviv families made homeless by the Scud-B missiles lobbed from Iraq."

A 2009 lookback

A 2009 report in The New York Times looking back at the Dinkins administration[28] summarized its achievements, noting:

  • Significant accomplishments in lowering New York City's crime rate and increasing the size of the New York Police Department, and the hiring of Raymond W. Kelly as police commissioner;
  • The cleanup and revitalization of Times Square, including persuading the Walt Disney Corporation to rehabilitate an old 42nd Street theater;
  • Major commitment to rehabilitation of dilapidated housing in northern Harlem, the South Bronx and Brooklyn despite significant budget constraints—more housing rehabilitated in a single term than Mr. Giuliani did in two terms;
  • The USTA lease, which in its final form New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg called "the only good athletic sports stadium deal, not just in New York but in the country";
  • Mental-health facility initiatives; and
  • Policies and actions that decreased the size of the city's homeless shelter population to its lowest point in 20 years.[21]

1993 election
Main article: 1993 New York City mayoral election

In 1993, Dinkins lost to Republican Rudy Giuliani in a rematch of the 1989 election. Dinkins earned 48.3 percent of the vote, down from 51 percent in 1989.[29] One factor in his loss was his indifference to the plight of the Jewish community during the Crown Heights riot.[30] Another was a strong turnout for Giuliani in Staten Island; a referendum on Staten Island's secession from New York was placed on the ballot that year by Governor Mario Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.[1]

Citywide tickets on which Dinkins ran
1989 NYC Democratic ticket
1993 NYC Democratic ticket

Later career

Since 1994, Dinkins has served as a professor of professional practice in the Faculty of International and Public Affairs at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs.[31] Since 1995, Columbia has hosted the annual David N. Dinkins Leadership and Public Policy Forum. Forum keynote speakers have included prominent New York and national leaders such as Al Gore, Hillary Clinton, Michael Bloomberg, Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Rangel.

Dinkins' radio program Dialogue with Dinkins aired on WLIB radio in New York City from 1994 to 2014.[32][33]

Although he has not attempted a political comeback, Dinkins has remained somewhat active in politics, and his endorsement of various candidates, including Mark J. Green in the 2001 mayoral race, was well-publicized. He supported Democrats Fernando Ferrer in the 2005 New York mayoral election, Bill Thompson in 2009, and Bill de Blasio in 2013.[34][35] During the 2004 Democratic presidential primaries, Dinkins endorsed and actively campaigned for Wesley Clark.[36] In the campaign for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, Dinkins served as an elected delegate from New York for Hillary Clinton.[37] During the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries, Dinkins endorsed former Mayor Michael Bloomberg for president on February 25, 2020, just before a Democratic debate.[38]

Memoirs

Dinkins' memoirs, A Mayor's Life: Governing New York's Gorgeous Mosaic,[1] written with Peter Knobler, were published in 2013.[39][40]

Personal life

Dinkins is married to Joyce Dinkins (née Burrows). They have two children. The couple are members of the Church of the Intercession in New York City.

Dinkins is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha and Sigma Pi Phi ("the Boule"), the oldest collegiate and first professional Greek-letter fraternities, respectively, established for African Americans. He was raised as a Master Mason in King David Lodge No. 15, F. & A. M., PHA, located in Trenton, New Jersey, in 1952.

Dinkins was hospitalized in New York on October 31, 2013, for treatment of pneumonia.[41] He was hospitalized again for pneumonia on February 19, 2016.[42]

Dinkins guest starred as himself on April 13, 2018, in "Risk Management" the 19th episode of the 8th season of the CBS police procedural drama Blue Bloods.[43]

Humanitarian works

Dinkins sat on the board of directors and in 2013 was on the Honorary Founders Board of The Jazz Foundation of America.[44][45] He worked with that organization to save the homes and lives of America's elderly jazz and blues musicians, including musicians who survived Hurricane Katrina. He serves on the boards of the Children's Health Fund (CHF), the Association to Benefit Children and the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund (NMCF). Dinkins is also chairman emeritus of the board of directors of the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS.[4] He has been a champion of college access, serving on the Posse Foundation National Board of Directors since 2002.[46]

Books
  • Dinkins, David N.; Knobler, Peter (2013). A Mayor's Life: Governing New York's Gorgeous Mosaic. New York: PublicAffairs Books. ISBN 9781610393010. OCLC 826322884.
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gollark: I'm sure Discord logs everything ever permanently themselves.
gollark: It runs OIR now playing stuff, an IRC bot for some reason, and also a small youtube-dl frontend and some minor potatOS services.
gollark: Random Stuff API.
gollark: The RSAPI stuff runs constantly for some reason I forgot, and thus is not a CGI script.

See also

References
  1. Dinkins, David N.; Knobler, Peter (2013). A Mayor's Life: Governing New York's Gorgeous Mosaic. New York: PublicAffairs. ISBN 978-1-61039-301-0.
  2. "Dinkins Seriously Considers Entering the Race for Mayor" Lynn, Frank, The New York Times, December 8, 1988.
  3. Langan, Patrick A.; Matthew R. Durose (December 2003). "The Remarkable Drop in Crime in New York City". In Linda Laura Sabbadini; Maria Giuseppina Muratore; Giovanna Tagliacozzo (eds.). Towards a Safer Society: The Knowledge Contribution of Statistical Information (PDF). Rome: Istituto Nazionale di Statistica (published 2009). pp. 131–174. ISBN 978-88-458-1640-6. Retrieved May 7, 2018. According to NYPD statistical analysis, crime in New York City took a downturn starting around 1990 that continued for many years, shattering all the city's old records for consecutive-year declines in crime rates. [See also Appendix: Tables 1–2.]
  4. "David N. Dinkins, Director at Large". United States Tennis Association. Archived from the original on July 20, 2010. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  5. Dinkins, David N. (September 17, 2013). A Mayor's Life: Governing New York's Gorgeous Mosaic. PublicAffairs. ISBN 9781610393027 – via Google Books.
  6. McQuiston, John T. (October 20, 1991). "William Dinkins, Mayor's Father And Real Estate Agent, Dies at 85". The New York Times.
  7. Hockenberry, John (June 27, 2012). "First Black Marines Awarded Congressional Gold Medal". The Takeaway. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
  8. Marriott, Michel (November 28, 1988). "To Run or Not to Run: Dinkins's Struggle" – via www.nytimes.com.
  9. "David Dinkins Biography – 1190 WLIB – Your Praise & Inspiration Station". Wlib.com. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
  10. Cheers, D. Michael. "Mayor of 'The Big Apple': 'nice guy' image helps David N. Dinkins in building multi-ethnic, multiracial coalition – New York City", Ebony (magazine), February 1990. Accessed September 4, 2008.
  11. "Columbia University Authentication". search.marquiswhoswho.com.ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu.
  12. "J. Raymond Jones, Harlem Kingmaker, Dies at 91" Fraser, C. Gerald, The New York Times, June 11, 1991.
  13. Schapiro, Rich, "Harlem 'trailblazer', former World War II Tuskegee Airmen [sic] Percy Sutton dies", New York Daily News, December 27, 2009.
  14. "NYC 100 – NYC Mayors – The First 100 Years". Nyc.gov. Archived from the original on 2007-10-12. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
  15. Ehrlich, M. Avrum, The Messiah of Brooklyn: Understanding Lubavitch Hasidim Past and Present (KTAV Publishing, January 2005), p. 109. ISBN 0-88125-836-9
  16. Lankevich, George J. (2002). New York City: A Short History. pp. 237–238, paragraph 3. ISBN 9780814751862. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
  17. Thompson, J. Phillip, "David Dinkins' Victory in New York City: The Decline of the Democratic Party Organization and the Strengthening of Black Politics", Political Science & Politics via jstor.org, June 1990.
  18. Purdum, Todd S. (January 2, 1990). "Mayor Dinkins; Dinkins Sworn In; Stresses Aid to Youth". The New York Times. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
  19. Dinkins, David N.; Knobler, Peter (2013). A Mayor's Life: Governing New York's Gorgeous Mosaic. New York: PublicAffairs. ISBN 978-1-61039-301-0. Riggio, Len, Foreword, page xi.
  20. Barrett, Wayne (June 25, 2001). "Giuliani's Legacy: Taking Credit For Things He Didn't Do". Gotham Gazette. Retrieved November 15, 2007.
  21. Powell, Michael (October 25, 2009). "Another Look at the Dinkins Administration, and Not by Giuliani". The New York Times. Retrieved October 26, 2009.
  22. Roberts, Sam (August 7, 1994). "As Police Force Adds to Ranks, Some Promises Still Unfulfilled". The New York Times. Retrieved November 15, 2007.
  23. Siegel, Fred, The Prince of the City: Giuliani, New York, and the Genius of American Life (San Francisco: Encounter Books, 2005), p. 90.
  24. Taylor, John (December 7, 1992). "The Politics of Grievance: Dinkins, the Blacks, and the Jews". New York Magazine. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  25. Clyde Haberman (July 9, 1993). "Dinkins Leaves Israel". The New York Times. p. B3.
  26. Felicia R. Lee (January 26, 1991). "Dinkins to Lead Contingent in Trip to Israel". NYTimes.com.
  27. Jonathan Ferziger (February 4, 1991). "Dinkins visits Shamir, Patriots, Ethiopians". UPI.com.
  28. Powell, Michael (October 5, 2009). "Another Look at the Dinkins Administration, and Not by Giuliani". The New York Times.
  29. Purdum, Todd S. (November 3, 1993). "Giuliani ousts Dinkins by a thin margin ..." The New York Times.
  30. Shapiro, Edward S. (2006). Crown Heights: Blacks, Jews, and the 1991 Brooklyn Riot. Waltham, Massachusetts: Brandeis University Press, University Press of New England. ISBN 1-58465-561-5. Retrieved October 20, 2007.
  31. "SIPA: Faculty David N. Dinkins". Columbia University. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
  32. "Praise Team: On-Air Schedule". WLIB. January 6, 2009. Archived from the original on July 1, 2007.
  33. Hinckley, David (2014-04-04). "After two decades, David Dinkins signing off at radio station WLIB". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2017-09-18.
  34. "William Thompson picks up a pair of key endorsements" Fermino, Jennifer, Daily News (New York), June 3, 2013.
  35. "The Ghosts of Mayors Past" Roberts, Sam, The New York Times, September 29, 2013.
  36. "David Dinkins supports Wesley Clark, to join him in N.H.", USA Today, Associated Press, January 21, 2004.
  37. "Reporters Notebook: New Yorkers make their mark on Maryland politics". The Gazette. Gaithersburg, MD. October 1, 2010. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
  38. Wilkinson, Joseph. "Former NYC Mayor David Dinkins endorses Mike Bloomberg for President". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  39. "Trentonian David Dinkins tells all in A Mayor's Life" Trenton (NJ) Trentonian, September 21, 2013.
  40. "Their Honors" Roberts, Sam, The New York Times, Sunday Book Review, November 22, 2013.
  41. "Dinkins hospitalized". New York: WNYW. October 31, 2013. Archived from the original on November 1, 2013.
  42. "Former NYC Mayor Dinkins Hospitalized for Pneumonia". ABC News.com. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  43. "Listings-Blue Bloods". The Futon Critic. April 13, 2018.
  44. "Hon. David Dinkins", JazzFoundation.org. Retrieved 2013-01-27.
  45. McMullan, Patrick, May 10, 2009. "The Jazz Foundation of America's 'A great night in Harlem' benefit" (photo archive) patrickmcmullan.com, May 29, 2008. Event at the Apollo Theater, NYC. Accessed: May 10, 2009.
  46. "Longtime Board Member, Former NYC Mayor David Dinkins Reflects on Path to Education, Posse", possefoundation.org. Retrieved 2019-04-19.

Further reading
New York State Assembly
New district Member of the New York Assembly
from the 78th district
1966		 Succeeded by
Edward A. Stevenson Sr.
Political offices
Preceded by
Andrew Stein		 Borough President of Manhattan
1986–1989		 Succeeded by
Ruth Messinger
Preceded by
Ed Koch		 Mayor of New York City
1990–1993		 Succeeded by
Rudy Giuliani
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