Greenville, GA, March 22, 2023 –
The Georgia Historical Society (GHS) will dedicate a new Civil Rights Trail historical marker recognizing Richmond D. Hill, Georgia’s first Black mayor, on Saturday, March 25, 2023, in partnership with The Odessadale Preservation Committee and the City of Greenville. The dedication is open to the public and will take place at 11:00 a.m., adjacent to City Hall at 101 North Depot Street in Greenville, Georgia.
“The Richmond D. Hill historical marker commemorates the election of the first African-American mayor in Georgia,” says Elyse Butler, GHS Marker Manager. “The marker illustrates the impact of the NAACP’s grassroots voter registration campaign, particularly in rural communities, in the 1973 election. We are pleased to add this historical marker to the growing GHS Georgia Civil Rights Trail.”
Following the federal passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, African Americans mobilized to increase African-American voter registration in rural communities. Richmond D. Hill, a local funeral director, entrepreneur, and activist, was among the founding members of the Meriwether County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Through the NAACP, Hill assisted the efforts to educate, organize, and register rural African-American voters.
In 1968, Richmond D. Hill was elected as councilman, becoming Meriwether County’s and Greenville’s first Black councilman, a result that demonstrated the effects of the grassroots efforts. Richmond D. Hill’s successful mayoral campaign in 1973 made him the first African American to be elected mayor of a municipality in Georgia. A record number of elections across the country resulted in the appointments of Black candidates that year, including two other trailblazing electoral wins in the state: Andrew Young, the first African-American US Congressman since Reconstruction, and Maynard Jackson, the first African-American mayor of a major southern city in Atlanta. Hill served as mayor for nearly ten years before retiring from public service.
To learn more about the Richmond D. Hill: Georgia’s First Black Mayor historical marker, please contact Keith Strigaro, Director of Communications at the Georgia Historical Society, at 912-651-2125 ext. 153 or [email protected].
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ABOUT THE GEORGIA HISTORICAL MARKER PROGRAM
The Georgia Historical Society (GHS) administers Georgia’s historical marker program. Over the last 25 years, GHS has erected more than 300 new historical markers across the state on a wide variety of subjects. GHS also coordinates the maintenance for more than 2,100 markers installed by the State of Georgia prior to 1998. Online mapping tools allow users to design driving routes based on historical markers, and a mobile app helps visitors locate and learn about markers nearby. Visit georgiahistory.com for more ways to use Georgia’s historical markers and experience history where it happened.
ABOUT THE GEORGIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Georgia Historical Society (GHS) is the premier independent statewide institution responsible for collecting, examining, and teaching Georgia history. GHS houses the oldest and most distinguished collection of materials related exclusively to Georgia history in the nation.
To learn more visit georgiahistory.com.
