Kurt Schmoke was elected Baltimore’s first Black mayor in November 1987, and was sworn in on this day that same year. Schmoke served three terms and faced several challenges in his attempt to turn Charm City around.
Kurt Lidell Schmoke was born in Baltimore on December 1, 1949 into a chemist father and social worker mother. He excelled as a football and lacrosse player in high school, and also worked with poor youth in his hometown during his senior year. Schmoke entered Yale University in 1967 and played on its football team. In 1971, Schmoke was instrumental in quieting racial tensions on the campus as a member of the Black Student Alliance and as the Secretary of the graduating class.
Schmoke studied as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University ahead of graduating from Harvard Law School in 1976. For a short while, Schmoke worked as an attorney for President Jimmy Carter before heading back to Baltimore to serve as an assistant United States Attorney in 1978.
In 1982, Schmoke was first elected to public office as Baltimore City State’s Attorney. He served in the position until December 1987, when he was elevated to the mayor’s office. Schmoke worked to combat Baltimore’s crime and drug issues, along with attempts to revitalize many of city’s crumbling schools.
He made headlines when he hired the Nation of Islam to provide security in some of the city’s public housing developments, and he advocated for the decriminalization of drugs. One of Schmoke’s high marks is helping to bring the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens to the city.
After declining to run again after his third term ended in December 1999, Schmoke practiced law before being named the dean of the Howard University Law School in 2003. During this period, he appeared on HBO’s The Wire in a small role that referenced many of his positions on the so-called war on drugs. Schmoke was at Howard until 2012, and is now the president of the University of Baltimore.
(Photo: University of Baltimore)
Like BlackAmericaWeb.com on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.
