Listen Live
Fantastic Voyage Generic Graphics Updated Nov 2023
Black America Web Featured Video
CLOSE

For iPhone:

 

Charles “Chuck” Burris was elected Stone Mountain, Ga.’s first Black mayor on this day in 1997. Despite low voter turnout in the city near Atlanta, Burris was able to eke out a narrow win to become the mayor of the city known as the birthplace of the modern Ku Klux Klan. Burris and his family endured racism from the KKK when he was a boy in Louisiana, and those memories stuck with him when he was a student at Morehouse College.

It was during that time he joined the Civil Rights Movement, and attended seminars held by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Burris did not support nonviolent protest at first, but a conversation with Dr. King changed his mindset.

Years later, Burris worked on Stone Mountain’s City Council and was an analyst for Atlanta’s first Black mayor, Maynard Jackson. In 1991, Burris ran for the part-time mayoral position in Stone Mountain, and was endorsed by James R. Venable, the former imperial wizard of the KKK. Venable supported Burris in his first failed bid, striking up an odd partnership between the pair.

In 1997, Burris won in an election where only 838 votes were cast. Adding to the irony of the achievement, Burris and his family were living in Venable’ former home, who had been mayor of the town in the ’40’s. In a New York Times piece, Burris recognized how weighty the election was and hoped to bring a new brand of politics to the region.

“There’s a new Klan in Stone Mountain,” Mr. Burris said in an interview with the New York Times, ”Only it’s spelled with a C: c-l-a-n, citizens living as neighbors. And I guess I’m the Black dragon.”

The mayoral position only paid $300-per-month, and was part-time.

However Burris lost a bid for reelection in 2001. He later moved to Maryland with his family to work for Lockheed Martin. Burris suffered from amylodosis, a disease in which an abnormal protein builds in the body’s organs and tissues. He died in February of 2009.

Burris is survived by his widow, Marcia Baird Burris, five children, and several grandchildren. He was 57.

Like BlackAmericaWeb.com on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.

The Ten Most Interesting Little Known Black History Facts
5 photos